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UNIVERSITY  OF  N.C.  AT  CHAPEL  HILL 


00034695081 


cffie  J/a/ìan  by 

Walter S.Cminp 

CJìffi  Cdiforiel 
Revision  by 

Sdra  £J/.Jgckivoob 

ùiilA  STany  Origina/ 
drawings  by 

Cfidrfes 


Ginn  Jìnó  Company 
Boston  -J/ew  y~orA 
Cfiicogo  -Jjonóon* 


Copyright,  1904 
By  GINN  &  COMPANY 


ALL    RIGHTS    RESERVED 


320.3 


tg&e   gltSengum   jgregg 

GINN  AND   COMPANY  •  PRO- 
PRIETORS ■  BOSTON  •  U.S.A. 


PREFACE 

Under  the  assumed  name  of  C.  Collodi,  Carlo 
Lorenzini  is  well  known  to  the  reading  world  of 
Italy.  His  most  successful  book,  Pinocchio,  was 
written  for  children,  and  has  already  become  a 
classic.  Of  all  the  fairy  stories  of  Italian  litera- 
ture this  is  the  best  known  and  the  best  loved. 
The  name  of  the  marionette  hero  is  familiar  in 
every  household  of  northern  and  central  Italy.  In 
its  whimsical  extravagance,  its  quaint  humor,  and 
its  narrative  style  the  story  appeals  strongly  to 
both  old  and  young. 

American  children,  who  have  long  delighted  in 
French  and  German  fairy  tales,  and  among  whom 
Hans  Christian  Andersen  is  universally  beloved, 
should  not  remain  in  ignorance  of  this  Italian  clas- 
sic. The  Florentines  call  it  a  literary  jewel,  and  as 
such  it  should  be  known  to  all  young  readers.  In 
order  to  preserve  the  unique  flavor  of  the  story 


2  PREFACE 

w 

as  much  as  possible  the  translator  has  followed  the 
original  rather  closely.  Pinocchio' s  waywardness 
and  love  of  mischief  are  fully  set  forth,  and  the 
moral,  though  sufficiently  obvious,  is  not  allowed  to 
detract  from  the  enjoyment  of  his  adventures. 

The  story  is  one  that  readily  lends  itself  to  the 
fertile  fancy  and  skillful  pencil  of  an  able  illustrator. 
In  the  present  volume,  as  in  the  original,  the  pic- 
tures play  an  important  part  which  is  not  likely  to 
be  overlooked  by  the  readers  for  whom  the  book 
is  designed. 


CHAPTER  I 


Once  upon  a  time  there  was  — 

"  A  king  ?  "  my  little  readers  will  immediately 
say. 

No,  children,  you  are  mistaken.  Once  upon  a 
time  there  was  a  piece  of  wood.  It  was  not  fine 
wood,  but  a  simple  piece  of  wood  from  the  wood 
yard,  —  the  kind  we  put  in  the  stoves  and  fireplaces 
so  as  to  make  a  fire  and  heat  the  rooms. 

I  do  not  know  how  it  happened,  but  one  beau- 
tiful day  a  certain  old  woodcutter  found  a  piece  of 
this  kind  of  wood  in  his  shop.  The  name  of  the 
old  man  was  Antonio,  but  everybody  called  him 
Master  Cherry  on  account  of  the  point  of  his  nose, 
which  was  always  shiny  and  purplish,  just  like  a 
ripe  cherry. 

3 


PINOCCHIO 


As  soon  as  Master  Cherry  saw  that  piece  of 
wood  he  was  overjoyed  ;  and  rubbing  his  hands 
contentedly,  he  mumbled  to  himself,  "  This  has 
come  in  very  good  time.  I  will  make  it  into  a 
table  leg." 

No  sooner  said  than  done.  He  quickly  took  a 
sharpened  ax  to  raise  the  bark  and  shape  ,the 
wood  ;  but  when  he  was  on  the  point  of  striking 
it  he  stopped  with  his  arm  in  the  air,  because  he 
heard  a  tiny,  thin  little  voice  say,  "Do  not  strike 
so  hard  !" 

Just  imagine  how  surprised  good  old  Master 
Cherry  was  !  He  turned  his  bewildered  eyes 
around  the  room  in  order  to  see  whence  that  little 
voice  came  ;  but  he  saw  no  one.  He  looked  under 
the  bench,  and  no  one  was  there  ;  he  looked  in  a 
sideboard  which  was  always  closed  ;  he  looked  in 
the  basket  of  chips  and  shavings  ;  he  opened  the 
door  in  order  to  glance  around  his  house  ;  still  he 
could  see  no  one.     What  then  ? 

"I  understand/'  he  said,  laughing  and  scratch- 
ing his  wig  ;  "  I  imagined  I  heard  that  little  voice. 
I  will  begin  to  work  again." 

He  took  up  the  ax  and  gave  the  piece  of  wood 
another  hard  blow. 

"  Oh  !  you  have  hurt  me  !  "  cried  the  little  voice, 
as  if  in  pain. 


PINOCCHIO 


This  time  Master  Cherry  was  dumb.  His  eyes 
were  nearly  popping  out  of  his  head  ;  his  mouth 
was  opened  wide,  and  his  tongue  hung  down  on  his 
chin,  like  that  of  a  gorgon  head  on  a  fountain. 

As  soon  as  he  could  speak  he  said,  trembling 
and  stammering  from  fright,  "  But  where  does 
that  little  voice  come  from  that  says  '  Oh  '  ?  There 
is  nothing  alive  in  this  room.  Can  it  be  that  this 
piece  of  wood  has  learned  to  cry  and  scream  like 


PINOCCHIO 


a  baby  ?  I  cannot  believe  it.  This  is  an  ordinary 
piece  of  wood  for  the  fireplace,  like  all  other  pieces 
with  which  we  boil  a  pot  of  beans.  What  next  ? 
What  if  there  is  some  one  hidden  inside  ?  If 
there  is,  so  much  the  worse  for  him.  I  will  settle 
him."  And  saying  this,  he  seized  with  both  hands 
the  poor  piece  of  wood  and  knocked  it  against 
the  wall. 

Then  he  stopped  to  listen,  so  as  to  hear  if  any 
voice  complained.  He  waited  two  minutes,  and 
heard  nothing;  five  minutes,  and  nothing;  ten  min- 
utes, and  nothing. 

"I  understand,"  he  said,  forcing  a  laugh  and 
rubbing  his  wig  ;  "  I  imagined  that  I  heard  a  voice 
cry  '  Oh  !  '  I  will  begin  to  work  again."  And 
because  he  was  somewhat  frightened,  he  tried  to 
hum  an  air  so  as  to  make  himself  courageous. 

At  the  same  time  he  stopped  working  with  the 
ax  and  took  up  a  plane  to  make  the  wood  even  and 
clean  ;  but  while  he  planed  he  heard  again  the  little 
voice,  this  time  in  a  laughing  tone,  "  Stop  !  you  are 
taking  the  skin  off  my  body." 

This  time  poor  Master  Cherry  fell  down  as  if 
shot.  When  he  opened  his  eyes  he  found  himself 
sitting  on  the  ground.  His  face  expressed  utter 
amazement,  and  the  end  of  his  nose,  which  was 
always  purple,  became  blue  from  great  fear. 


CHAPTER  II 


At  this  moment  there  was  a  knock  at  the  door. 

"Come  in,"  said  the  woodcutter,  without  having 
strength  enough  to  arise. 

Then  a  lively  old  man  called  Geppetto'  entered 
the  room. 

"Good  morning,  Master  Antonio,"  said  Gep- 
petto.    "  What  are  you  doing  on  the  ground  ?" 

"  I  am  teaching  the  ants  their  A  B  Cs.  What 
has  brought  you  here,  brother  Geppetto?" 

"I  have  come  to  ask  a  favor  of  you,  Master 
Antonio.  "1 

"  Here  I  am,  prompt  to  serve  you  !  "  replied  the 
woodcutter,  raising  himself  on  his  knees. 

"This  morning  I  had  an  idea." 

"  Let  me  hear  it." 

"  I  thought  that  I  would  make  a  pretty  wooden 
marionette  ;  .1  mean  a  wonderful  marionette,  one 

7 


8  PINOCCHIO 


that  can  dance,  walk,  and  jump.  With  this  mario- 
nette I  wish  to  travel  through  the  world  and  earn 
for  myself  a  little  bread." 

u  What  then,  brother  Geppetto,  *  can  I  do  for 
you?" 

"  I  should  like  a  piece  of  wood  to  make  a  mario- 
nette.    Will  you  give  it  to  me?" 

Master  Antonio  gladly  took  up  the  piece  of  wood 
that  had  frightened  him  so.  But  when  he  was 
about  to  hand  it  to  Geppetto  the  piece  of  wood 
gave  a  spring,  and,  slipping  violently  from  his 
hands,  fell  and  struck  the  shins  of  poor  Geppetto. 

"  Ah  !  you  are  very  polite  when  you  give  pres- 
ents !  Truly,  Master  Antonio,  you  have  nearly 
lamed  me." 

"  I  swear  to  you  that  I  did  not  do  it." 

"  Surely  it  was  you  who  threw  the  piece  of  wood 
at  my  legs." 

"  I  did  not  throw  it.  The  fault  is  all  in  this 
wood." 

"Truly?" 

"Truly!" 

Upon  that  Geppetto  took  the  piece  of  wood  in 
his  arms  and,  thanking  Master  Antonio,  went  home, 
limping  ail  the  way. 


«O^^s* 


CHAPTER   III 


Geppetto's  home  consisted  of  one  room  on  the 
ground  floor.  It  received  light  from  a  window 
under  a  staircase.  The  furniture  could  not  have 
been  more  simple,  —  a  broken  chair,  a  hard  bed, 
and  a  dilapidated  table.  On  one  side  of  the  room, 
there  was  a  fireplace  with  wood  burning  ;  but  the 
fire  was  painted,  and  above  it  there  was  also  painted 
a  boiling  pot  with  clouds  of  steam  all  around  it 
that  made  it  quite  real. 

As   soon   as   he    entered    Geppetto    began    to 
make  a   marionette.     "  What  name   shall  I    give 

9 


IO  PINOCCHIO 


him  ?"  he  said  to  himself.  "  I  think  I  will  call 
him  Pinocchio.  That  name  will  bring  with  it  good 
fortune.  I  have  known  a  whole  family  called 
Pinocchio.  Pinocchio  was  the  father,  Pinocchio 
was  the  mother,  and  the  children  were  called  little 
Pinocchios,  and  everybody  lived  well.  It  was  a 
happy  family." 

When  he  had  found  the  name  for  the  mario- 
nette he  began  to  work  with  a  will.  He  quickly 
made  the  forehead,  then  the  hair,  and  then  the 
eyes.  After  he  had  made  the  eyes,  just  imagine 
how  surprised  he  was  to  see  them  look  around, 
and  finally  gaze  at  him  fixedly  !  Geppetto,  seeing 
himself  looked  at  by  two  eyes  of  wood,  said  to 
the  head,  "  Why  do  you  look  at  me  so,  eyes  of 
wood  ?  " 

No  response. 

After  he  had  made  the  eyes  he  made  the  nose  ; 
but  the  nose  began  to  grow,  and  it  grew,  grew,  grew, 
until  it  became  a  great  big  nose,  and  Geppetto 
thought  it  would  never  stop.  He  tried  hard  to 
stop  it,  but  the  more  he  cut  at  it  the  longer  that 
impertinent  nose  became. 

After  the  nose  he  made  the  mouth.  The  mouth 
was  hardly  finished  when  it  commenced  to  sing  and 
laugh.  "  Stop  laughing,"  said  Geppetto,,  vexed  ; 
but  it  was  like  talking  to  the  wall.     "  Stop  laughing, 


PINOCCHIO 


I  I 


I  tell  you,"  he  said  again  in  a  loud  tone.  Then  the 
features  began  to  make  grimaces. 

Geppetto  feigned  not  to  see  this  impertinence 
and  continued  to  work.  After  the  mouth  he  made 
the  chin,  then  the  neck,  then  the  shoulders,  then 
the  body,  then  the  arms  and  hands. 

Hardly  had  he  finished  the  hands  when  Geppetto 
felt  his  wig  pulled  off.    He  turned  quickly,  and  what 


do  you  think  he  saw  ?  —  his  yellow  wig  in  the 
hands  of  the  marionette  !  "  Pinocchio  !  give  me 
back  my  wig  immediately,"  said  the  old  man.  But 
Pinocchio,  instead  of  giving  back  the  wig,  put  it  on 
nis  own  head,  making  himself  look  half  smothered. 
At  this  disobedience  Geppetto  looked  very  sad, 
a  thing  he  had  never  done  before  in  all  his  life. 


12  PINOCCHIO 


Turning  to  Pinocchio,  he  said  :  "  Bad  little  boy  !  You 
are  not  yet  finished  and  already  lack  respect  to 
your  father.    Bad,  bad  boy  !  "    And  he  dried  a  tear. 

There  were  now  only  the  legs  and  feet  to  make. 
Scarcely  were  they  finished  when  they  began  to 
kick  poor  Geppetto.  "  It  is  my  fault,"  he  said  to 
himself  ;  "  I  ought  to  have  thought  of  this  at  first  ! 
Now  it  is  too  late  !  "  Then  he  took  the  mario- 
nette in  his  arms  and  placed  him  on  the  ground  to 
make  him  walk.  Pinocchio  behaved  at  first  as  if 
his  legs  were  asleep  and  he  could  not  move  them. 
Geppetto  led  him  around  the  room  for  some  time, 
showing  him  how  to  put  one  foot  in  front  of  the 
other.  When  his  legs  were  stretched  Pinocchio 
began  to  walk  and  then  to  run  around  the  room. 
When  he  saw  the  door  open  he  jumped  into  the 
street  and  ran  away. 

Poor  Geppetto  ran  as  fast  as  he  could,  but  he 
was  not  able  to  catch  him  ;  Pinocchio  jumped  like 
a  rabbit.  He  made  a  noise  with  his  wooden 
feet  on  the  hard  road  like  twenty  pair  of  little 
wooden  shoes. 

'*.  Stop  him  !  stop  him  !  "  cried  Geppetto  ;  but 
the  people  in  the  street,  seeing  the  wooden  mario- 
nette running  as  fast  as  a  rabbit,  stopped  to  look  at 
it,  and  laughed,  and  laughed,  and  laughed,  so  that 
it  is  really  hard  to  describe  how  they  enjoyed  it  all. 


PINOCCHIO 


13 


Finally,  through  good  fortune,  a  soldier  appeared, 
who,  hearing  all  the  noise,  thought  that  some  colt 
had  escaped  from  its  master.  He  planted  himself 
in  the  middle  of  the  road  and  with  a  fixed  look 
determined  to  catch  the  runaway.  Pinocchio,  when 
he  saw  the  soldier  in  the  road,  tried  to  pass  between 
his  legs,  but  he  could  not  do  it.  The  soldier, 
scarcely  moving  his  body,  seized  the  marionette 
by  the  nose  (which  was  a  very  ridiculous  one,  just 
the  size  to  be  seized  by  a  soldier)  and  consigned 
him  to  the  hands  of  Geppetto,  who  tried  to  correct 
him  by  pulling  his  ears.  But  just  imagine  —  when 
he  searched  for  the  ears  he  could  not  find  them  ! 
Do  you  know  why  ?  Because,  in  the  haste  of 
making  Pinocchio,  he  did  not  finish  carving  them. 


14  PINOCCHIO 


Taking  him  by  the  neck,  Geppetto  led  him  back, 
saying  as  he  did  so,  "When  we  get  home  I  must 
punish  you." 

Pinocchio,  at  this  threat,  threw  himself  on  the 
ground  and  refused  to  walk  farther.  Meanwhile 
the  curious  people  and  the  loungers  began  to  stop 
and  surround  them.  First  one  said  something,  then 
another.  "  Poor  marionette  !  "  said  one  of  them, 
"  he  is  right  not  to  want  to  go  back  to  his  home. 
Who  knows  how  hard  Geppetto  beats  him?  "  And 
others  added  maliciously  :  "  That  Geppetto  appears 
to  be  a  kind  man,  but  he  is  a  tyrant  with  boys. 
If  he  gets  that  poor  marionette  in  his  hands,  he  will 
break  him  in  pieces." 

Altogether  they  made  so  much  noise  that  the 
soldier  gave  Pinocchio  back  his  liberty  and  took  to 
prison  instead  the  poor  old  man,  who,  not  finding 
words  at  first  with  which  to  defend  himself,  wept 
bitterly,  and  on  approaching  the  prison  stammered 
out  :  "  Wicked  son  !  and  to  think  I  tried  so  hard  to 
make  a  good  marionette  !  I  ought  to  have  thought 
of  all  this  at  first." 

What  happened  afterward  is  a  story  so  strange 
that  you  will  hardly  believe  it.  However,  I  will 
tell  it  to  you  in  the  following  chapters. 


CHAPTER  IV 

I  will  tell  you  then,  children,  that  while  poor  old 
Geppetto  was  led  to  prison  without  having  done  any 
wrong,  that  rogue  Pinocchio,  being  free,  took  to 


his  heels  anoTmri  toward  the  fields  in  order  more 
easily  to  reach  his  house.  In  his  haste  he  jumped 
high  mounds  of  earth,  hedges  of  thorns,  and  ditches 
of  water,  just  as  rabbits  and  deer  do  when  chased 
by  hunters. 

When  he  arrived  before  the  house  he  found  the 
door  to  the  street  half  shut.  He  pushed  it  open, 
entered  the  room,  and  bolted  the  door.  Then  he 
threw  himself  down  on  the  floor  and  heaved  a  great 
big  sigh  of  happiness. 

But  his  happiness  did  not  last  very  long  for  soon 
he  heard  some  one  crying  in  the  room — "  Cri-cri 
cri  I 


Io  PINOCCHIO 


"Who  is  speaking  to  me?"  said  Pinocchio, 
frightened. 

"It  is  I." 

Pinocchio  turned  around  and  saw  a  large  cricket 
that  walked  slowly  up  on  the  wall. 

"  Tell  me,  Cricket,  who  are  you  ?  " 

"  I  am  the  Talking  Cricket,  and  I  have  lived  in 
this  room  for  more  than  a  hundred  years." 

"  To-day,  however,  this  room  is  mine,"  said  the 
marionette,  "  and  if  you  wish  to  do  me  a  favor,  go 
away  immediately,  without  even  turning  yourself 
around  once." 

"  I  will  not  go  away  from  here,"  said  the  Cricket, 
"without  telling  you  a  great  truth." 

"  Tell  it  to  me  and  be  gone." 

"Woe  to  boys  who  rebel  against  their  parents, 
and  who  foolishly  run  away  from  their  homes. 
They  will  never  get  along  well  in  the  world,  and 
sooner  or  later  will  bitterly  repent  of  their 
actions." 

"  Sing  on,  little  Cricket,  if  it  pleases  you  ;  but  I 
know  that  to-morrow,  at  the  dawn  of  day,  I  shall 
go  away,  because  if  I  remain  here,  what  happens 
to  all  other  boys  will  happen  to  me.  I  shall  have 
to  go  to  school  and  be  made  to  study  ;  and  I  will 
tell  you  in  confidence  that  I  have  no  wish  to 
study  at  all,  and  I  propose  to  play  and  run  after 


PINOCCHIO  17 


butterflies  and  climb  trees  and  take  the  little  birds 
out  of  their  nests." 

"Poor  little  stupid  thing!  Do  you  not  know 
that  in  doing  so  you  will  become  a  donkey,  and 
that  everybody  will  make  fun  of  you  ?  " 

"Be  quiet,  you  dismal  little  Cricket!"  cried 
Pinocchio.  *.  Crf^p 

But  the  Cricket,  who  was  a  patient  philosopher, 
instead  of  becoming  angry  at  this  impertinence, 
continued,  in  the  same  tone  of  voice:  "And  IT  it 
does  not  please  you  to  go  to  school,  why  not  at 
least  learn  a  trade,  so  as  to  be  able  to  earn  honestly 
a  piece  of  bread  ?  " 

"  Do  you  wish  me  to  tell  you?  "  replied  Pinocchio, 
who  began  to  lose  patience  ;  "  because  among  the 
trades  of  the  world  there  is  only  one  that  suits  my 
genius." 

"And  what  trade  may  that  be  ?  " 

"  That  of  eating,  drinking,  sleeping,  and  amusing 
myself,  and  of  living,  from  morning  to  night,  an 
easy  life." 

"Those  who  live  that  way,"  said  the  Talking 
Cricket  with  his  usual  calmness,  "always  end  in 
the  hospital  or  in  prison." 

"  Take  care,  Cricket,  take  care  !  If  you  make 
me  angry  I  pity  you." 

"  Poor  Pinocchio  !  you  make  me  pity  you." 


i8 


PINOCCHIO 


"  Why  do  I  make  you  pity  me  ?  " 

"  Because  you  are  a  marionette  ;  and,  what  is 
worse,  you  have  a  wooden  head." 

At  these  words  Pinocchio  jumped  up  enraged, 
and  taking  a  hammer  from  a  bench  flung  it  at  the 
Talking  Cricket. 

Perhaps  he  did  not  intend  to  do  such  a  thing  ; 
but  unfortunately  the  hammer  struck  the  poor  little 
Cricket  in  the  head  and  killed  him. 


\,  .,;/}, 


CHAPTER  V 

Meanwhile  the  night  came  on,  and  Pinocchio, 
remembering  that  he  had  eaten  nothing,  felt  a 
gnawing  in  his  stomach  that  strongly  resembled 
an  appetite.  Now  the  appetite  of  boys  increases 
very  quickly,  and  so  after  a  few  minutes  the  appe- 
tite became  hunger,  and  the  hunger  finally  became 
like  that  of  a  wolf. 

Poor  Pinocchio  ran  suddenly  to  the  fireplace, 
where  there  was  a  pot  of  boiling  water  into  which 
he  tried  to  look  ;  but  he  found  that  it  was  only  a 
painting.  Imagine  his  surprise  !  His  nose,  which 
was  already  long,  began  to  grow  longer,  nearly 
equal  to  four  fingers.  Then  he  ran  around  the 
room  and  rummaged  through  all  the  drawers  and 
boxes  and  all  the  hiding  places  in  search  of  a  piece 
of  bread, — only  a  little  piece  of  dried  bread,  a  crust, 
a  bone  for  a  dog,  a  little  mush,  a  fish  bone,  a  ker- 
nel of  a  cherry,  in  fact  anything  at  all  to  eat  ;  but 
he  found  absolutely  nothing. 

Meanwhile  his  hunger  constantly  increased.  Poor 
Pinocchio  had  no  other  relief  than  that  of  yawning, 

19 


20  PINOCCHIO 


and  he  gaped  with  so  much  energy  that  the  corners 
of  his  mouth  touched  his  ears.  Then  he  began  to 
feel  faint  and  dizzy.  Weeping  and  despairing,  he 
said:  "The  Talking  Cricket  was  righTT  I  have 
behaved  badly  in  turning  my  back  on  my  papa  and 
running  away.  If  my  papa  were  only  here  now, 
I  should  not  find  myself  dying  of  hunger.  Oh  ! 
what  a  horrible  feeling  it  is  !  " 

Suddenly  it  appeared  to  him  that  he  saw  some- 
thing on  the  top  of  a  rubbish  heap  that  very  much 
resembled  a  hen's  egg.  It  required  but  a  second 
to  jump  to  the  spot  and  there  he  really  saw  a  nice 
big  egg. 

It  is  impossible  to  describe  the  joy  of  the  mario- 
nette. It  is  necessary  to  be  a  marionette  in  order 
to  understand  it.  Fearing  that  it  might  be  a  dream, 
he  turned  the  egg  around  in  his  hands  and  touched 
it  and  kissed  it,  and  kissing  it  said  :  "  And  now,  ] 
how  ought  I  to  cook  it  ?  Shall  I  make  an  ome 
let  ?  No,  it  is  better  to  poach  it  ;  or  would  it  not 
be  more  savory  to  scramble  it  ?  Or  instead  of 
cooking  it,  I  might  drink  it  raw.  No,  the  nicest 
way  is  to  cook  it  in  a  saucepan." 

No  sooner  said  than  done.  He  placed  a  sauce- 
pan above  a  heap  of  burning  shavings.  In  the 
saucepan,  instead  of  oil  or  butter,  he  put  a  little 
water.    When  the  water  began  to  smoke  —  tac  !  — 


'U 


PINOCCHIO  21 


he  broke  the  shell  of  the  egg  and  held  it  over  the 
steaming  saucepan.  He  was  in  the  act  of  pour- 
ing out  the  eggf  when  instead  of  the  yolk  there 
appeared  a  little  chicken,  very  lively  and  polite. 
It  made  a  beautiful  bow  and  said  :  "  Many  thanks, 
Mr.  Pinocchio,  for  saving  me  the  trouble  of  break- 
ing  my  shell.  Good-by  !  Be  good  and  give  my 
respects  to  the  family." 

Saying  this,  the  little  chick  spread  its  wings  and 
flew  out  of  the  open  window  and  away  so  quickly 
that  it  was  soon  out  of  sight. 

The  poor  marionette  remained  there  stupefied, 
with  his  eyes  fixed,  with  his  mouth  open,  and  with 
the  eggshell  in  his  hands.  He  soon  came  to  him- 
self, however,  and  began  to  weep,  to  scream,  and 
to  stamp  his  feet  on  the  ground  in  desperation, 
and  while  weeping  he  said  :  "  Oh,  yes  !  the  Talking 
Cricket  was  right.  If  I  had  not  run  away,  and  if 
my  papa  were  only  here,  I  should  not  find  myself 
dying  of  hunger.  Ah  !  what  a  horrible  sickness 
hunger  is  !  " 

And  because  he  was  more  uncomfortable  than 
ever,  and  because  he  did  not  know  what  else  to  do, 
he  thought  that  he  would  go  out  and  run  to  the  little 
neighboring  town,  in  the  hope  of  finding  some 
charitable  person  who  would  help  him  and  give 
him  a  piece  of  bread. 


CHAPTER  VI 

It  was  a  horrible  night.  It  thundered  very  heav- 
ily and  it  lightened  as  if  the  heavens  would  take 
fire,  while  an  ugly  wind  whistled  savagely  and  raised 
an  immense  cloud  of  dust. 

Pinocchio  was  afraid  of  thunder  and  lightning, 
but  his  hunger  was  greater  than  his  fear.  In  a  few 
hundred  jumps  he  arrived  at  the  edge  of  the  town, 
quite  out  of  breath.  He  was  faint  and  weak  with 
hunger  and  fright.  But  he  found  the  town  all 
dark^and  deserted.  The  stores  were  closed  ;  the 
doors  of  the  houses  were  shut  and  the  windows 
were  bolted  ;  there  was  not  even  a  dog  in  the 
streets;  it  seemed  as  if  the  town  were  dead. 

Then  Pinocchio  despairingly  pulled  a  doorbell  of 
one  of  the  houses  and  rang  it  with  all  his  might, 
saying  to  himself,  "Some  one  will  come." 

Soon  a  cross  old  man  with  a  nightcap  on  his 
head  looked  out  of  a  window  and  cried,  "  What 
do  you  want  at  this  hour  ?  " 


PINOCCHIO  23 


"  Will  you  please  give  me  a  little  bread  ?  " 

"  Go  away,"  replied  the  old  man,  believing  that 
he  had  to  deal  with  some  of  the  bad  boys  who  go 
around  at  night  disturbing  people  by  ringing  their 
bells. 

Poor  Pinocchio  returned  home,  weak  from  hun- 
ger and  tired  out  ;  and  because  he  had  not  enough 
strength  to  stand  upright,  he  dropped  into  a  chair. 
Resting  his  feet  on  the  stove  that  was  filled  with 
burning  shavings,  he  fell  asleep.  But  while  he 
slept,  his  feet,  which  were  of  wood,  took  fire  and 
slowly  became  cinders.  Pinocchio,  however,  snored 
away  just  as  if  his  feet  belonged  to  some  one  else. 

He  was  awakened  the  next  morning  by  some 
one  knocking  at  the  door. 

"  Who  is  there  ?"  he  asked,  yawning  and  rubbing 
his  eyes. 

"It  is  I,"  replied  a  voice. 

The  voice  was  the  voice  of  Geppetto 


/ 


•• 


CHAPTER  VII 


Poor  Pinocchio,  who  was  not  quite  awake,  did 
not  notice  that  his  feet  had  been  burned  off.  He 
gave  a  start  and  jumped  down  from  his  chair  so  as 
to  run  and  open  the  door.  Instead,  after  stagger- 
ing two  or  three  times,  he  fell  flat  on  the  floor  ;  and 
in  falling  he  made  the  same  noise  that  a  sack  of 
wood  would  make  in  falling  from  the  fifth  story  of 
a  house. 

"  Open  the  door,"  cried  Geppetto,  from  the  street. 

"I  cannot,  Father,"  responded  the  marionette, 
weeping  and  turning  over  and  over  on  the  floor. 

"  Why  ?  " 

24 


PINOCCHIO 


25 


"Because  some  one  has  eaten  my  feet." 

"And  who  has  eaten  them  ?  " 

"  The  cat,"  said  Pinocchio,  seeing  the  cat  playing 
with  a  bit  of  wood. 

"  Open  the  door,  I  say,"  repeated  Geppetto;  "if 
not,  when  I  come  into  the  house  I  shall  whip  you." 

"  I  cannot  stand  up,  believe  me.  Oh  !  poor, 
poor  me  !  I  shall  be  obliged  to  walk  on  my  knees 
all  my  life." 

Geppetto,  believing  that  all  the  weeping  was 
simply  a  trick  to  deceive  him,  thought  he  would 
make  an  end  of  it.  So  he  climbed  up  the  side  of 
the  house  and  entered  through  the  window. 


— -<.•.-  •fS'-^r^cLi^^fJJr 


20  PINOCCHIO 


At  first  he  was  very  angry,  but  when  he  saw 
Pinocchio  really  stretched  out  on  the  floor  without 
any  feet,  he  felt  sorry,  and  he  took  him  gently 
by  the  neck  and  began  to  caress  him.  Swallowing 
a  big  sob,  he  said,  "  You  dear  little  Pinocchio  ! 
How  is  it  that  you  have  burned  off  your  feet  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know,  Papa  ;  but,  believe  me,  the  night 
has  been  a  horrible  one,  and  I  shall  remember  it 
always.  It  thundered  and  lightened  and  I  was  so 
very  hungry  !  And  the  Talking  Cricket  said  to 
me  :  <  It  serves  you  right  ;  you  have  been  wicked 
and  you  deserve  it  all.'  I  said  to  him,  'Take  care, 
Cricket  '  ;  and  he  said  to  me,  *  You  are  a  marionette 
and  have  a  wooden  head.'  I  then  took  a  hammer 
and  threw  it  at  him  and  it  killed  him.  Then  I 
placed  a  saucepan  on  some  burning  shavings  to 
cook  an  eggt  but  when  I  broke  the  egg  a  little 
chicken  flew  out  of  the  shell  and  said,  'Good-by, 
little  one.'  Meanwhile  I  grew  more  hungry  and  ran 
to  a  house  and  rang  the  doorbell  for  help.  An  old 
man  with  his  nightcap  on  came  to  the  window  and 
told  me  to  go  away.  Was  that  a  nice  way  to 
treat  a  boy  ?  I  came  home  at  once  and  dropped 
into  that  chair  and  placed  my  feet  on  the  stove. 
Now  you  have  come  back  and  found  me  with  my 
feet  all  gone,  and  I  am  still  very  hungry.  Ih  !  ih  ! 
ih!  ih! 


PINOCCHIO  27 


And  poor  Pinocchio  began  to  cry  so  loudly  that 
he  could  be  heard  for  miles. 

Geppetto,  who,  through  all  the  sad  story,  thought 
of  only  one  thing,  and  that  was  that  the  marionette 
was  dying  of  hunger,  suddenly  pulled  out  of  his 
pocket  three  pears  and  handing  them  to  the  mario- 
nette said  :  "  These  three  pears  were  to  have  been 
my  breakfast,  but  I  give  them  to  you  willingly. 
Eat  them,  and  may  they  do  you  good." 

"  If  you  want  me  to  eat  them,  be  so  kind  as  to 
peel  them." 

"Peel  them?"  replied  Geppetto,  greatly  sur- 
prised. "  I  would  never  have  believed  that  you 
could  be  so  hard  to  please.  Bad  boy  !  In  this 
world  little  boys  must  eat  what  is  given  them." 

"  That  is  all  right,"  said  Pinocchio,  "  but  I  never 
eat  fruit  unless  it  is  peeled.  I  cannot  eat  the 
skins." 

And  that  good  man  Geppetto  took  out  of  his 
pocket  a  small  knife  and  with  much  patience  peeled 
the  three  pears  and  placed  all  the  skins  on  the 
corner  of  the  table. 

After  Pinocchio  had  eaten  the  first  pear  in  two 
mouthfuls,  he  was  in  the  act  of  throwing  away  the 
core,  when  Geppetto  took  him  by  the  arms  and 
said  to  him  :  "  Do  not  throw  the  core  away.  Every- 
thing in  this  world  has  its  use." 


28  PINOCCHIO 


"  But  I  never  eat  the  core,"  cried  the  marionette, 
wriggling  like  a  snake. 

"  All  right  !  "  said  Geppetto,  without  getting 
angry. 

The  result  was  that  the  three  cores,  instead  of 
being  thrown  away,  were  placed  on  the  corner  of 
the  table  with  the  skins. 

Having  eaten,  or,  to  describe  it  more  truly,  hav- 
ing devoured,  the  three  pears,  Pinocchio  gave  a  long 
yawn  and  said,  "  I  am  still  hungry." 

"  But,  my  boy,  I  have  nothing  more  to  give  you." 

"  Nothing  more,  truly  ?  " 

"  Nothing,  except  those  skins  and  cores." 

"Oh,  well,"  said  Pinocchio,  "if  there  is  nothing 
more,  I  will  eat  the  skins." 

And  he  commenced  to  eat  them.  At  first  he 
puckered  his  mouth,  but  one  after  another  the 
skins  disappeared.  After  the  skins  he  ate  the 
cores  also.  When  he  had  eaten  everything  he 
clapped  his  hands  contentedly  on  his  little  stomach 
and  said,  "Now  I  feel  better." 

"You  see  now,"  said  Geppetto,  "that  I  was 
right  when  I  told  you  that  you  must  accustom 
yourself  to  what  is  given  you  and  not  be  too  dainty. 
My  dear  boy,  no  one  ever  knows  what  may  happen 
in  this  world,  so  always  be  prepared  for  the  worst." 


CHAPTER  Vili 


The  marionette  had  scarcely  appeased  his  hun- 
ger when  he  began  to  grumble  and  cry  because 
he  wished  a  new  pair  of  feet.  Geppetto,  in  order 
to  punish  him  for  his  bad  actions,  let  him  cry  for 
half  a  day.  Then  he  said  :  "  And  why  should  I 
make  you  a  new  pair  of  feet  ?  Perhaps  you  would 
run  away  again." 

"  I  promise  you,"  said  the  marionette,  sobbing, 
"  that  hereafter  I  will  be  a  good  boy." 

"All  boys,"  said  Geppetto,  "when  they  wish  to 
obtain  something,  say  that." 

"  I  promise  you  that  I  will  go  to  school.  I  will 
study  and  I  will  be  an  honor —  " 

"  All  boys,  when  they  wish  to  obtain  something, 
tell  the  same  story." 

29 


30  PINOCCHIO 


"But  I  am  not  like  other  boys.  I  am  better 
than  all  the  rest  and  I  always  speak  the  truth.  I 
promise  you,  Papa,  that  I  will  learn  a  trade,  and 
that  I  will  be  your  consolation  and  your  support  in 
your  old  age." 

Geppetto,  although  he  had  the  face  of  a  tyrant, 
began  to  shed  tears,  and  his  heart  was  full  of  com- 
passion when  he  saw  poor  little  Pinocchio  in  such 
a  state.  He  took  his  tools  and  two  pieces  of  wood 
and  began  to  work  very  diligently. 

In  less  than  an  hour  the  new  feet  were  finished. 
They  were  two  nimble  and  nervous  feet,  and  were 
made  so  beautifully  that  they  looked  as  if  they 
might  have  been  carved  by  a  great  artist.  Then 
Geppetto  said  to  the  marionette,  "  Close  your  eyes 
and  go  to  sleep." 

Pinocchio  closed  his  eyes  and  pretended  to  sleep. 
Meantime  Geppetto  stuck  on  the  two  feet  with  a 
little  glue  ;  and  he  did  it  so  well  that  one  could 
hardly  see  the  places  where  they  were  joined.  As 
soon  as  the  marionette  saw  that  his  feet  were  on, 
he  jumped  down  and  began  to  dance  around  as  if 
he  were  mad  with  joy. 

"  In  order  to  pay  you  back  for  your  kindness," 
said  Pinocchio  to  his  papa,  "  I  wish  to  go  to  school 
immediately." 

"Good  boy!" 


V 


32  PINOCCHIO 


"But  in  order  to  go  to  school  I  need  some 
clothes." 

Geppetto,  who  was  so  poor  that  he  had  not  a  cent 
in  his  pocket,  made  a  beautiful  suit  of  clothes  out  of 
some  cardboard  painted  all  over  with  flowers.  He 
made  a  pair  of  shoes  out  of  the  bark  of  a  tree,  and  a 
cap  out  of  stale  bread  crumbs  all  molded  together. 

Pinocchio  ran  immediately  to  look  at  himself  in 
a  tub  filled  with  water,  and  he  was  so  delighted 
with  his  appearance  that  he  said  proudly,  "  Truly, 
I  look  like  a  gentleman  !  " 

"  Yes,  indeed,"  replied  Geppetto,  "because,  bear 
m  mind,  it  is  not  fine  clothes  so  much  as  clean 
ones  that  make  a  gentleman." 

"By  the  by,"  added  the  marionette,  "now  in 
order  to  go  to  school  I  lack  something  else." 

"  What  is  that  ?  " 

«  Why,  I  lack  an  A  B  C  card." 

"  You  are  right  ;  but  how  can  I  get  one  ?  " 

"That  is  easy.      Go  to  the  store  and  buy  it." 

"And  the  money  ?  " 

"I  have  none." 

"Neither  have  I,"  added  the  good  old  man, 
looking  sad. 

Pinocchio,  although  he  was  a  happy  boy,  looked 
sad  too,  because  real  trouble  is  understood  by 
everybody,  even  by  boys. 


PINOCCHIO 


33 


"  Have  patience  !  "  cried  Geppetto,  suddenly 
getting  up.  Taking  off  his  coat  all  covered  with 
patches,  he  ran  out  of  the  house. 

After  a  little  while  he  returned  with  an  A  B  C 
card  in  his  hand,  but  his  coat  was  gone.  The  poor 
man  was  in  his  shirt  sleeves  and  it  was  snowing 
outside  too. 

"  And  the  coat,  Papa  ?  " 

"  I  have  sold  it." 

"Why  did  you  sell  it  ?  " 

"  Because  it  made  me  too  warm." 

Pinocchio  understood  the  reply  at  once,  and  not 
being  able  to  restrain  his  feelings,  he  jumped  up  on 
Geppetto,  threw  his  arms  around  his  neck,  and 
kissed  his  face  all  over. 


niuim 


CHAPTER   IX 


The  snow  having  stopped,  Pinocchio,  with  his 
nice  new  ABC  card  under  his  arm,  went  to  school. 
As  he  walked  along  he  imagined  many  things  and 
built  a  thousand  castles  in  the  air,  each  new  one 
more  beautiful  than  the  others.  And,  talking  to 
himself,  he  said  :  "  To-day  at  school  I  wish  to  learn 
immediately  to  read  ;  to-morrow  I  will  learn  to 
write,  and  then  the  day  after  to-morrow  I  will 
learn  to  make  numbers.  Then  with  my  learning  I 
will  earn  many  pennies,  and  with  the  pennies  that 
will  fill  my  pocket  I  will  order  my  papa  a  nice  new 
suit  of  cloth.  But  why  did  I  say  of  cloth  ?  I  will 
have  one  of  gold  and  line  it  with  silver  and  have 

34 


PINOCCHIO  35 


buttons  of  brilliants.  My  poor  papa  deserves  it 
truly,  because  in  order  to  buy  me  an  A  B  C  card  so 
that  I  could  learn,  he  is  now  in  his  shirt  sleeves,  in 
the  cold  weather  too  !  There  are  not  many  papas 
who  would  sacrifice  so  much." 

While  he  was  talking  thus  he  seemed  to  hear 
some  music  of  a  fife  and  strokes  of  a  drum  — pi- 
pi-pi,  pi-pi-pi,  zum,  zum,  zum,  zum.  He  stopped 
to  listen.  These  sounds  came  from  the  end  of  a 
long  street  that  led  to  a  small  square  near  the  sea. 
"  What  is  that  beautiful  music  ?  It  is  too  bad  that 
I  have  to  go  to  school.  If  —  "  And  he  remained 
there  perplexed,  He  must  decide  either  to  go  to 
school  or  to  hear  the  fife  and  drum.  "  To-day  I  will 
go  and  hear  the  fife  and  drum,  and  to-morrow  I  will 
go  to  school.  There  is  always  time  to  go  there," 
said  the  little  scoundrel,  shrugging  his  shoulders. 

No  sooner  said  than  done.  .  He  turned  down  the 
street  and  ran  as  hard  as  he  could.  The  more  he 
ran,  the  more  distinct  became  the  sound  of  the  fife 
and  drum — pi-pi-pi,  pi-pi-pi,  pi-pi-pi,  zum,  zum,  zum, 
zum.  He  soon  found  himself  in  the  middle  of  a 
square,  which  was  filled  with  people.  They  all  stood 
around  a  little  wooden  building  with  a  sign  painted 
in  many  colors. 

"  What  is  that  house  ?  "  asked  Pinocchio,  turning 
to  a  boy  standing  near. 


36  PINOCCHIO 


"  Read  the  sign  and  you  will  know." 

"  I  should  be  glad  to  read  it,  but  somehow  to-day 
I  do  not  know  how." 

"  Stupid  one  !  then  I  will  read  it  for  you.  Know, 
then,  that  on  that  sign  with  letters  like  fire  there 
is  written,  *  Grand  Theater  of  Marionettes.'  " 

"  How  soon  does  it  begin  ?  " 

"  It  begins  now." 

"  And  how  much  is  the  admission  ?  " 

"Four  pennies." 

Pinocchio  was  wild  with  curiosity,  and  forgetting 
all  his  good  resolutions,  shamelessly  turned  to  the 
boy  with  whom  he  was  talking  and  said,  "  Would 
you  give  me  four  pennies  until  to-morrow  ?  " 

"  I  would  give  you  the  pennies  willingly,  but  to- 
day I  have  none  to  spare." 

"  For  four  pennies  I  will  sell  you  my  jacket," 
said  the  marionette. 

''What  good  would  a  paper  cardboard  jacket  do 
me  ?     If  it  rains  on  it,  it  will  fall  apart." 

"I  will  sell  my  shoes." 

"They  are  good  only  for  a  fire." 

"  How  much  will  you  give  me  for  my  cap  ?  " 

"  Nice  bargain,  truly  !  a  cap  of  bread  !  Why, 
the  rats  would  eat  it  all  in  a  night." 

Pinocchio  was  full  of  trouble.  He  stood  there 
not  knowing  what  to  do.     He  had  not  the  courage 


PINOCCHIO 


37 


to  offer  the  last  thing  he  had.  He  hesitated,  but 
finally  he  said,  "  Will  you  give  me  four  pennies 
for  this  ABC  card  ?  " 

"  I  am  a  boy  and  I  do  not  buy  from  boys," 
replied  the  little  fellow,  who  had  more  good  sense 
than  the  marionette. 

"For  four  pennies  I  will  take  the  ABC  card," 
said  a  seller  of  old  clothes,  who  heard  the  conver- 
sation. So  the  card  was  sold  at  once.  And  to 
think  that  the  poor  man,  Geppetto,  remained  at 
home  trembling  in  his  shirt  sleeves  in  the  cold, 
just  to  buy  that  ABC  card  for  his  son  ! 


CHAPTER   X 


When  Pinocchio  entered  the  theater  of  the  mar- 
ionettes something  happened  that  almost  caused  a 
revolution, 

The  reader  must  know  that  the  curtain  was  up 
and  the  comedy  had  begun.  On  the  stage  Harle- 
quin and  Pulcinello  were  quarreling,  and,  as  usual 
in  stage  performances  of  marionettes,  there  were 
many  blows  given  with  a  stick.  The  audience  were 
listening  intently.  They  laughed  out  loud  on  hear- 
ing the  quarrel  of  the  two  marionettes,  who  gesticu- 
lated and  acted  their  threats  as  naturally  as  if  they 
had  been  two  real  people. 

Suddenly-TIarlequin  stopped  reciting.  Turning 
toward  the  audience  and  pointing  to  some  one  in 
the  rear,  he  began  to  shout  in  a  dramatic  tone  : 

38 


PINOCCHIO  39 


"  What  do  my  eyes  behold  ?  do  I  dream  or  am  I 
awake  ?   Nevertheless  that  boy  there  is  Pinocchio." 

"  It  is  Pinocchio,  truly  !  "  said  Pulcinello. 

"  It  is  indeed  he  !  "  screamed  Rosa,  who  peeped 
from  behind  the  scenes. 

"  It  is  Pinocchio  !  It  is  Pinocchio  !  "  cried  in  a 
chorus  all  the  marionettes,  coming  out  and  jump- 
ing on  the  stage. 

"Pinocchio,  come  up  here  to  me,"  cried  Harle- 
quin. "  Come  and  throw  your  arms  around  your 
wooden  brothers." 

At  this  affecting  invitation  Pinocchio  made  a 
lump,  and  from  the  back  part  of  the  theater  he 
went  to  the  reserved  portion  ;  then  with  another 
jump  from  the  reserved  seats  he  mounted  on  the 
head  of  the  orchestra  leader,  and  from  there  he 
jumped  upon  the  stage. 

It  is  impossible  to  imagine  the  kisses,  the  em- 
braces, the  words  of  endearment,  the  wooden- 
headed  sayings  of  true  and  sincere  brotherhood 
that  Pinocchio  received  in  the  midst  of  the  actors 
and  actresses  of  that  dramatic  company.  It  was 
a  touching  sight  ;  but  the  public,  seeing  that  the 
comedy  was  stopped,  grew  impatient  and  began  to 
cry,  "  We  want  the  play." 

It  was  all  breath  thrown  away,  for  the  mario- 
nettes, instead  of  continuing  the  dialogue,  redoubled 


40  PINOCCHIO 


their  cries  ;  and  taking  Pinocchio  on  their  shoulders, 
they  carried  him  in  triumph  behind  the  wings  on 
the  stage. 

Then  came  out  the  manager,  a  big  man,  who 
made  people  tremble  just  by  looking  at  them.  He 
had  a  beard,  black  as  ink,  which  reached  to  his  feet 
and  tripped  him  when  he  walked.  His  mouth  was 
as  large  as  a  furnace,  his  eyes  looked  like  two  lan- 
terns of  red  glass,  and  in  his  hands  he  cracked  a 
large  whip  made  of  serpents  and  tails  of  wolves 
tied  together. 

At  the  unexpected  sight  of  the  manager  all  the 
marionettes  became  mute.  No  one  breathed.  Why, 
you  could  have  heard  a  fly  walk  !  The  poor  mari- 
onettes, both  actors  and  actresses,  trembled  like 
so  many  leaves. 

"  Why  have  you  come  here  and  made  all  this 
disorder  in  my  theater?"  he  asked,  looking  at 
Pinocchio.  His  voice  sounded  like  that  of  an  ogre 
with  a  cold  in  his  head. 

"  Believe  me,  most  illustrious  man,  the  fault  is 
not  mine  !  " 

"  Do  not  answer  me  !  to-night  we  will  settle  our 
affairs." 

The  marionettes  went  on  with  the  comedy  and 
the  manager  went  to  the  kitchen  where  he  was 
preparing  for  supper  a  sheep  that  was  cooking  on 


PINOCCHIO 


41 


a  spit.  As  he  needed  more  wood  to  finish  cooking 
it,  he  called  Harlequin  and  Pulcinello,  who  had  fin- 
ished their  performance,  and  said  to  them  :  "  Bring 
me  now  the  marionette  that  you  will  find  tied  to  a 
nail.  He  appears  to  be  made  of  good  dry  wood, 
and  I  am  sure  he  will  make  a  beautiful  flame  for 
a  roast." 

Harlequin  and  Pulcinello  at  first  hesitated,  but 
a  glance  from  their  master's  eye  scared  them  and 
they  obeyed.  Soon  they  returned  to  the  kitchen 
carrying  Pinocchio  in  their  arms.  Struggling  like 
an  eel  out  of  water,  he  cried  despairingly  :  "  Oh, 
Papa,  dear  Papa,  save  me  !  I  do  not  wish  to  die  ! 
No,  I  do  not  wish  to  die  !  " 


CHAPTER   XI 


The  proprietor,  Fire  Eater  (for  that  was  his  name), 
looked  fearful  with  his  black  beard  covering  his 
chest  and  legs  like  an  apron  ;  but  he  really  was  not 
a  bad  man.  When  he  saw  Pinocchio  carried  before 
him  and  crying,  "  I  do  not  want  to  die  !  I  do  not 
want  to  die  !  "  he  began  to  pity.  him.  He  resisted 
the  feeling  for  a  little  while,  but  when  he  could  do 
so  no  longer  he  gave  a  terrible  sneeze. 

At  that  sound  Harlequin,  who  until  then  had 
been  afflicted  and  doubled  up  like  a  weeping  wil- 
low, began  to  look  more  lively,  and  leaning  toward 
Pinocchio,  whispered  to  him  softly,  "Good  news, 
brother  !  Our  master  has  sneezed.  That  is  a  sign 
that  he  pities  you,  and  now  you  are  saved." 

For  you  must  know  that  while  many  men  and 
women  cry  when   they  feel   moved  to  pity,  Fire 

42 


PINOCCHIO  43 


Eater,  instead,  had  the  habit  of  sneezing.  It  was 
his  way  of  letting  others  know  the  tenderness  of 
his  heart. 

After  having  sneezed,  the  manager,  still  looking 
cross,  cried  to  Pinocchio  :  "  Stop  crying  !  Your 
sobs  distress  me  very  much.  I  feel  a  spasm  that 
nearly  —  etchi-etchi  —  "  and  he  sneezed  twice 
more. 

"God  bless  you!"  said  Pinocchio. 

"  Thanks.  And  your  papa  and  mamma  are  still 
living  ?  "  asked  Fire  Eater. 

"  My  papa,  yes  ;  but  I  have  never  seen  my 
mother." 

"Oh,  what  a  terrible  thing  it  would  have  been 
for  your  papa  if  I  had  thrown  you  on  the  fire  ! 
Poor  old  man!  I  pity  him — etchi-etchi-etchi — " 
and  he  sneezed  three  times  more. 

"  God  bless  you  !  "  said  Pinocchio. 

"Thanks.  But  some  one  must  also  pity  me,  be- 
cause you  see  I  have  no  more  wood  with  which  I 
can  cook  my  meat  ;  and  you  would  have  made  a 
fine  fire.  But  now  that  I  am  moved  to  pity  for  you, 
I  must  have  patience.  Instead  of  you  I  shall  have 
to  burn  some  one  of  my  company.  Ho  !  guards, 
come  here  !  " 

At  this  command  two  guards  of  wood  appeared 
with  soldier  caps  on  their  heads  and  swords  by  their 


44  PINOCCHIO 


sides.  Then  the  manager  said  to  them  in  a  wheez- 
ing tone  :  "  Bring  me  Harlequin,  bound  tightly, 
and  then  throw  him  on  the  fire.  I  want  that  roast 
cooked  well." 

Just  imagine  how  poor  Harlequin  must  have  felt  ! 
He  was  so  scared  that  his  legs  refused  to  support 
him,  and  he  fell  face  downward  on  the  floor.  Pi- 
nocchio, at  this  most  pitiful  sight,  threw  himself  at 
the  feet  of  the  manager,  and,  crying  so  hard  that  he 
wet  the  long,  black  beard  of  Fire  Eater,  said  in  a 
supplicating  voice,   "  Pity,  Mr.  Fire  Eater  !  " 

"  There  are  no  Misters  here,"  replied  the  manager 
in  a  dry  tone. 

"Pity,  Mr.  Cavalier!" 

"  There  are  no  cavaliers  here." 

"  Pity,  Mr.  Commander  !  " 

"  There  are  no  commanders  here." 

"  Pity,  Your  Excellency  !  " 

At  hearing  himself  called  "  Excellency  "  the 
manager  immediately  pursed  up  his  lips  and  became 
more  humane  and  tractable.  He  said  to  Pinocchio, 
"  Well,  what  do  you  wish  ?  " 

"  I  ask  pity  for  poor  Harlequin." 

"  I  have  saved  you,  but  I  must  put  some  one  on 
the  fire,  so  that  my  meat  shall  be  well  cooked." 

"  In  that  case,"  cried  Pinocchio,  proudly,  straight- 
ening himself  and  throwing  aside  his  cap  of  bread 


PINOCCHIO  45 


crumbs,  —  "  in  that  case  I  know  what  my  duty- 
should  be.  Come,  guards,  bind  me  and  throw  me 
into  the  flames.  No,  it  is  not  just  that  poor  Har- 
lequin, my  true  friend,  should  die  for  me  !  " 

These  words,  pronounced  in  a  loud  tone  and  with 
heroic  accents,  made  all  the  marionettes  that  were 
present  at  this  scene  cry.  The  guards,  although 
made  of  wood,  wept  like  two  baby  lambs. 

Fire  Eater  at  first  remained  hard  and  cold  as  a 
piece  of  ice  ;  but  afterward  he  slowly  began  to 
show  symptoms  of  being  moved  and  of  sneezing. 
After  having  sneezed  four  or  five  times,  he  held  out 
his  arms  to  Pinòcchio  and  said  :  "  You  are  a  brave 
boy.     Come  here  and  give  me  a  kiss/' 

Pinocchio  ran  quickly,  and,  climbing  like  a  squirrel 
up  the  beard  of  the  manager,  gave  him  a  most 
beautiful  kiss  right  on  the  point  of  his  nose. 

"  Then  I  am  free  ?  "  asked  Harlequin,  with  a  thin 
voice  that  could  scarcely  be  heard. 

"Yes,  you  are  free,"  replied  Fire  Eater.  Then 
he  added,  sighing  and  shaking  his  head  :  "  To-night 
I  will  eat  my  supper  half- cooked  ;  but  another 
time,  woe  to  him  who  changes  my  plans  !  " 

When  the  marionettes  heard  that  Harlequin  was 
free  they  ran  to  the  stage,  lit  all  the  lights,  just 
as  if  it  were  a  grand  holiday,  and  began  to  dance 
and  jump.     And  they  danced  all  night  long. 


CHAPTER   XII 


The  next  morning  Fire  Eater  called  Pinocchio 
aside  and  said  to  him,  "  What  is  your  papa's  name  ?  " 

"  Geppetto." 

"  What  is  his  business  ?" 

"  He  is  poor." 

"  Does  he  earn  much  ?  " 

"  He  earns  so  much  that  he  never  has  a  cent  in 
his  pockets.  Just  imagine,  in  order  to  buy  me  an 
ABC  card  he  had  to  sell  his  coat  !  It  was  covered 
with  patches,  but  they  gave  him  enough  so  that  he 
could  buy  me  that." 

H  Poor  man  !  I  pity  him  very  much.  Here  are 
five  pieces  of  gold.  Go  quickly  and  carry  them  to 
bim,  and  remember  me  kindly  to  him." 

46 


PINOCCHIO  47 


Pinocchio,  as  it  is  easy  to  imagine,  thanked  the 
manager  many  times.  He  embraced  the  mario- 
nettes one  after  another,  and,  now  nearly  crazy  with 
joy,  started  to  go  home.  But  he  had  not  gone 
half  a  mile  when  he  met  a  Fox  lame  in  one  paw, 
and  a  Cat  blind  in  both  eyes.  The  Fox,  who 
limped,  leaned  on  the  Cat  ;  and  the  Cat,  who  was 
blind,  was  guided  by  the  Fox. 

"Good  morning,  Pinocchio,"  said  the  Fox,. salut- 
ing him  politely. 

"  How  do  you  know  my  name  ?  "  asked  the 
marionette. 

"I  know  your  papa  very  well." 

"  When  did  you  see  him  ?  " 

"  I  saw  him  yesterday  at  the  door  of  his  house." 

"What  was  he  doing?" 

"  He  was  in  his  shirt  sleeves  and  he  trembled 
with  the  cold." 

"Poor  Papa!  but  he  will  tremble  no  more  after 
to-day." 

"Why?" 

"  Because  I  have  become  a  great,  rich  man." 

"You  a  great,  rich  man  !  "  said  the  Fox,  and  he 
laughed  aloud.  The  Cat  also  laughed,  but  in  order 
not  to  be  seen  laughing  he  stroked  his  mustache 
with  his  two  front  paws. 

"  What  are  you  laughing  about  ?  "  said  Pinocchio, 


48  PINOCCHIO 


taken  aback.  "  I  hate  to  make  your  mouths  water, 
but  I  have  here,  as  you  shall  see,  five  beautiful 
pieces  of  gold." 

And  he  pulled  out  of  his  pocket  the  money  that 
Fire  Eater  had  given  him.  At  the  sound  of  the 
money  the  Fox  involuntarily  stretched  his  leg  that 
was  paralyzed  and  the  Cat  opened  wide  his  eyes 
that  looked  like  two  green  lamps  ;  but  it  was  all 
done  so  quickly  that  Pinocchio  did  not  see  anything. 

"  And  now,"  said  the  Fox,  "what  do  you  intend 
to  do  with  all  that  money  ?  " 

"First  of  all,"  replied  the  marionette,  "I  shall 
buy  a  coat  for  my  papa,  all  covered  with  gold  and 
silver  and  with  buttons  of  brilliants.  Then  I  shall 
buy  a  new  ABC  card  for  myself." 

"  For  yourself?" 

"  Yes,  indeed,  because  I  wish  to  go  to  school  and 
begin  to  study." 

"Look  at  me!" said  the  Fox;  "because  of  my 
passion  for  studying  I  have  lost  a  leg." 

"  Look  at  me  !  "  cried  the  Cat  ;  "because  of  my 
love  for  studying  I  have  lost  both  eyes." 

In  the  meantime  a  Blackbird  flew  near  them  and 
said  :  "  Pinocchio,  do  not  listen  to  the  counsel  of  bad 
companions.     If  you  do,  you  will  be  sorry." 

Just  as  soon  as  the  Blackbird  had  said  that,  the 
Cat  gave  a  spring  and  caught  him  by  the  back. 


PINOCCHIO 


49 


Before  the  Blackbird  had  time  to  say  "  Oh  !  "  the 
Cat  ate  him  up,  feathers  and  all.  Then  the  Cat 
cleaned  his  mouth  and  closed  his  eyes  and  became 
as  blind  as  he  was  at  first. 

"Poor  Blackbird!"  said  Pinocchio.     "Why  did 
you  treat  him  so  badly  ?  '  ' 


"  I  did  it  to  teach  him  a  lesson.  Another  time 
he  will  know  that  he  ought  not  to  meddle  with 
other  people's  business." 

They  walked  along  a  short  distance  when  the 
Fox,  stopping  suddenly,  said  to  the  marionette, 
"  Should  you  like  to  double  your  money  ?  " 


50  PINOCCHIO 


"What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"Should  you  like  to  make  of  those  miserable 
five  pieces,  ten  ?   a  hundred  ?    a  thousand  ?  " 

"  Why,  of  course  !     And  how  can  you  do  it  ?  " 

"  It  is  very  easy.  Instead  of  going  home,  come 
with  us." 

"  And  where  do  you  want  to  take  me  ?  " 

"To  the  Country  of  the  Owl." 

Pinocchio  thought  a  little  and  then  said  reso- 
lutely :  "  No,  I  will  not  go.  My  father  expects  me. 
Who  knows  but  that  the  poor  old  man,  when  I 
did  not  return  yesterday,  was  worried  and  wept 
for  me  ?  I  have  been  a  bad  boy,  and  the  Talking 
Cricket  was  right  when  he  said,  '  Disobedient  boys 
never  get  along  well  in  this  world.  '  I  have  had  one 
experience  because  I  was  bad.  Only  last  night,  at 
the  house  of  Fire  Eater,  I  was  in  great  danger.  Brrr! 
It  makes  me  tremble  to  think  of  it." 

"Then,"  said  the  Fox,  "you  want  to  go  home? 
All  right  !  Go  home,  but  it  will  be  the  worse  for 
you." 

"  Yes,  it  will  be  the  worse  for  you,"  said  the  Cat. 

"Think  well,  Pinocchio,  for  you  have  thrown 
away  a  fortune." 

"A  fortune,"  said  the  Cat. 

"  Your  five  pieces  might  be  two  thousand  by 
to-morrow." 


PINOCCHIO  51 


"Two  thousand,"  repeated  the  Cat. 

"  But  how  is  it  possible  that  they  can  become  so 
many  ?  "  asked  Pinocchio,  whose  mouth  was  wide 
open  with  astonishment. 

"I  will  explain  to  you,"  said  the  Fox.  "You 
must  know  that  in  the  Country  of  the  Owl  there 
is  a  magic  field  called  'The  Field  of  Wonders.' 
You  make  a  little  hole  in  the  ground  and  you  put 
inside,  for  example,  one  piece  of  gold.  Then  you 
cover  over  the  hole  with  a  little  earth,  water  it 
with  a  few  drops  of  water  from  a  fountain,  put  on 
a  little  salt,  and  go  to  bed  and  sleep  quietly.  In 
the  meantime,  during  the  night,  the  gold  piece 
begins  to  grow  and  blossom  ;  and  the  next  morn- 
ing, returning  to  the  field,  guess  what  you  find? 
Why,  you  find  a  tree  loaded  with  gold  pieces  !  " 

"If  I  bury  five  pieces,"  said  Pinocchio,  all  ex- 
cited, "  how  many  shall  I  find  next  morning  ?  " 

"  It  is  easy  to  count,"  replied  the  Fox.  "  You 
can  do  it  on  your  fingers.  Every  gold  piece  will 
make  five  hundred  ;  and  therefore,  multiplying 
each  by  five,  you  will  have  two  thousand  five 
hundred." 

"  Oh,  how  beautiful  !  "  cried  Pinocchio,  dancing 
with  joy.  "When  I  have  all  those  gold  pieces  I 
will  give  you  five  hundred  of  them  and  I  will  take 
the  other  two  thousand  to  my  papa." 


52 


PINOCCHIO 


"A  present  to  us  !  "  cried  the  Fox,  disdainfully^ 
as  if  he  were  offended.     "  No,  indeed  !  " 

"  No,  indeed  !  "  said  the  Cat. 

"We,"  said  the  Fox,  "work  only  to  enrich 
others." 

"  Only  others,"  said  the  Cat. 

"  What  good  people  !  "  thought  Pinocchio  ;  and 
forgetting  all  about  his  papa,  the  new  coat,  and 
the  ABC  card,  he  said  to  the  Fox  and  the  Cat, 
"Come  on,  then;  I  will  go  with  you.y- 


ML.iiimmm 


tó^- 


CHAPTER  XIII 

They  walked  and  walked  and  walked  until  they 
arrived  at  the  Red  Lobster  Inn,  tired  to  death. 

"Let  us  stop  here  a  little,"  said  the  Fox,  "just 
long  enough  to  get  something  to  eat  and  rest 
ourselves.  At  midnight  we  can  start  again  and 
to-morrow  morning  we  shall  arrive  at  the  Field 
of  Wonders." 

They  entered  the  inn  and  seated  themselves  at 
the  table,  but  none  of  them  was  hungry.  The 
poor  Cat  felt  very  much  indisposed  and  could  eat 
only  thirty-five  mullets  with  tomato  sauce  and  four 
portions  of  tripe  ;  and  because  the  tripe  did  not 
taste  just  right  he  called  three  times  for  butter 
and  cheese  to  put  on  it. 

53 


54  PINOCCHIO 


The  Fox  would  willingly  have  ordered  some- 
thing, but  as  the  doctor  had  told  him  to  diet,  he 
had  to  be  contented  with  a  nice  fresh  rabbit  dressed 
with  the  giblets  of  chicken.  After  the  rabbit  he 
ordered,  as  a  finish  to  his  meal,  some  partridges, 
some  pheasants,  some  frogs,  some  lizards,  and  some 
bird  of  paradise  eggs  ;  and  then  he  did  not  wish 
any  more.  He  had  such  a  distaste  for  food,  he 
said,  that  he  could  not  eat  another  mouthful. 

Pinocchio  ate  the  least  of  all.  He  asked  for  a 
piece  of  meat  and  some  bread,  but  he  left  every- 
thing on  his  plate.  He  could  think  of  nothing  but 
the  Field  of  Wonders. 

When  they  had  supped  the  Fox  said  to  the  host  : 
"  Give  me  two  good  rooms,  one  for  Mr.  Pinocchio 
and  another  for  me  and  my  companion.  Before 
we  go  we  will  ring  the  bell.  Remember,  however, 
to  wake  us  at  midnight  so  that  we  can  go  on  with 
our  journey." 

"All  right,  sir,"  replied  the  host;  and  he  winked 
his  eye  at  the  Fox  and  the  Cat,  as  if  to  say,  "We 
understand  each  other." 

Pinocchio  had  scarcely  jumped  into  bed  when 
he  fell  asleep  and  began  to  dream.  He  seemed  to 
be  in  a  field  full  of  arbors,  and  each  arbor  was  over- 
grown with  vines  covered  with  large  bunches  of 
grapes.    Instead  of  grapes,  however,  they  were  all 


55 


56  PINOCCHIO 


gold  pieces,  that  made  a  noise  when  the  wind  blew 
—  zin-zin-zin-zin.  It  was  just  as  if  they  said, 
"  Here  we  are  !  Let  who  will  come  and  take  us." 
When  Pinocchio  was  on  the  point  of  reaching  for 
them  he  heard  a  loud  knocking  at  the  door  of  his 
room.  It  was  the  landlord  who  came  to  tell  him 
that  the  clock  had  struck  midnight. 

"And  are  my  companions  ready?"  asked  the 
marionette. 

"  Better  than  that  !     They  left  two  hours  ago." 

"  Why  were  they  in  such  a  hurry  ?  " 

"  Because  the  Cat  received  word  that  his  father 
was  very  sick  with  frosted  feet  and  that  he  was  in 
danger  of  losing  his  life." 

"And  they  paid  for  the  supper  ?  " 

"  What  do  you  think  those  people  are  ?  They 
are  too  highly  educated  to  insult  a  gentleman  as 
good  as  you  are." 

"  Oh,  yes  !  That  affront  would  have  displeased 
me  very  much,"  said  Pinocchio,  hastily.  Then  he 
asked  the  landlord,  "  Did  they  say  where  I  should 
meet  them  ?  " 

"  At  the  Field  of  Wonders,  to-morrow  morning 
at  daybreak." 

Pinocchio  paid  a  gold  piece  for  his  supper  and  that 
of  his  companions,  and  then  departed.  He  groped  his 
way  along,  because  outside  the  inn  it  was  so  dark 


PINOCCHIO  5; 


that  he  could  not  see  anything.  It  was  very  quiet 
and  not  even  a  leaf  stirred.  Some  birds  flying  along 
the  road  struck  Pinocchio  on  the  nose  with  their 
wings.  He  jumped  back  and  cried  out  with  fear, 
"Who  goes  there?"  The  echo  of  the  surround- 
ing hills  took  up  his  words  and  repeated,  "Who 


goes  there?"  "Who  goes  there?"  "Who  goes 
there?" 

As  he  walked  on,  he  saw  on  the  trunk  of  a  tree 
a  little  creature  that  shone  with  a  pale  opaque  light, 
just  like  a  candle  behind  a  globe  of  transparent 
porcelain. 

"  Who  are  you  ?  "  asked  Pinocchio. 

"I  am  the  Spirit  of  the  Talking  Cricket,"  it 
replied,  with  a  little  voice  that  seemed  to  come 
from  another  world. 


58  PINOCCHIO 


"  What  do  you  want  with  me  ?  " 

"  I  wish  to  warn  you.  Go  back,  with  your  four 
gold  pieces  that  you  have  left,  to  your  papa,  who 
cries  and  thinks  he  shall  never  see  you  again." 

"To-morrow  my  papa  will  be  a  very  rich  man,  be- 
cause these  four  pieces  will  become  two  thousand." 

"  Do  not  trust  those  who  promise  to  make  you 
rich  in  one  night,  my  boy.  Usually  they  are  mad 
or  deceitful.     Listen  to  me  and  go  back." 

"  I  want  to  go  on." 

"  The  hour  is  late." 

"  I  want  to  go  on." 

"  The  night  is  dark." 

"  I  want  to  go  on." 

"  The  road  is  dangerous." 

"  I  want  to  go  on." 

"  Remember  that  boys  who  always  do  what  they 
want  to  will  sooner  or  later  repent." 

"The  same  old  story  !     Good  night,  Cricket." 

"  Good  night,  and  may  you  escape  from  the 
assassins  !  " 

The  Talking  Cricket  had  hardly  said  these  words 
when  he  suddenly  disappeared,  just  as  if  some  one 
had  blown  the  light  out,  and  the  road  was  darker 
than  ever.  « 


CHAPTER   XIV 


"Truly,"  said  the  marionette  to  himself,  starting 
again  on  his  way,  "  how  unfortunate  we  poor  boys 
are  !  Everybody  scolds  us,  everybody  warns  us, 
and  everybody  gives  us  advice.  Why,  everybody 
takes  it  upon  himself  to  be  our  papa  and  master, — 
even  the  Talking  Cricket.  Here  am  I  ;  and  because 
I  would  not  pay  attention  to  that  tiresome  Talking 
Cricket,  he  said  that  many  things  would  happen 
to  me  !  I  should  also  meet  assassins  !  I  have 
never  believed  in  assassins.  I  think  that  assassins 
have  been  invented  by  papas  on  purpose  to  make 
their  boys  afraid  to  go  out  at  night.  And  then, 
if  I  should  meet  them  on  the  road,  they  would 

59 


6o  PINOCCHIO 


probably  tell  me  my  way.  Why,  I  am  not  afraid. 
I  would  go  to  them  and  say,  right  to  their  faces, 
'  Mr.  Assassins,  what  do  you  want  of  me  ?  Do 
not  think  that  you  can  fool  with  me.  Go  away 
then  about  your  own  business,  quick  !  '  At  such 
talk  the  poor  assassins  —  I  can  see  them  now  — 
would  run  away  like  the  wind.  In  case  they  might 
be  clever  enough  not  to  run  away,  why  then  I  would 
—  and  thus  the  thing  would  end  —  " 

But  Pinocchio  was  not  able  to  finish  his  reason- 
ing, because  at  that  moment  he  thought  he  heard 
a  rustling  in  the  leaves  behind  him.  He  turned 
to  look  and  saw  in  the  dark  two  coal  sacks  cover- 
ing two  figures  which  ran  toward  him  on  the  tips 
of  their  toes  like  ghosts. 

"Here  they  are,  truly!"  said  Pinocchio  to  him- 
self. Not  knowing  what  to  do  with  the  four  gold 
pieces,  he  put  them  into  his  mouth  and  under  his 
tongue.  Then  he  tried  to  run  away.  But  he  had 
hardly  started  when  his  arms  were  seized  and  he 
heard  two  hollow  voices  say  to  him,  "  Your  money 
or  your  life  !  " 

Not  being  able  to  reply  on  account  of  the  money 
in  his  mouth,  Pinocchio  made  many  bows  and  ges- 
tures in  order  to  make  his  captors  understand  th"aT~ 
he  was  a  poor  marionette  and   that    he  did  not 
have  a  cent  in  his  pockets.     "  Come  on  and  stop 


PINOCCHIO  6l 


fooling!  Out  with  it!  "  the  brigands  cried.  And 
the  marionette  made  signs  with  his  hands  and  head, 
which  meant,  "  I  have  none  !  " 

"  Bring  out  the  money  or  you  will  die  !  "  said  the 
taller  assassin. 

"  You  will  die,"  repeated  the  smaller  one. 

"And  after  you  are  dead  we  will  kill  your  papa." 

"  We  will  kill  your  papa,"  repeated  the  other. 

"  No,  no,  no  !  Not  my  poor  papa  !  "  cried  Pinoc- 
chio, despairingly  ;  but  in  saying  this  the  gold  pieces 
made  a  noise  in  his  mouth. 

"  Oh,  you  story-teller  !  you  have  hidden  the 
money  in  your  mouth  !     Out  with  it  !  " 

Poor  Pinocchio  remained  quiet. 
*"  Ah  !   do   you   make    believe    you   are    deaf  ? 
Wait  a  little  and  we  will  show  you  how  we  shall 
make  you  give  up  the  gold." 

Then  they  began  to  handle  the  marionette  very 
roughly,  but  Pinocchio  managed  to  liberate  him- 
self from  their  hands.  Jumping  a  hedge  that 
bordered  the  road,  he  began  to  run  across  the 
fields  with  the  assassins  after  him,  like  two  dogs 
after  a  rabbit. 

After  a  run  of  fifteen  miles  Pinocchio  could  go 
no  farther.  Fearing  that  he  was  lost,  he  climbed 
to  the  top  of  a  large  pine  tree  and  sat  on  one  of 
the  branches.     The  assassins  also  tried  to  climb; 


02 


PINOCCHIO 


but  when  they  got  halfway  up  they  slipped  and  fell 
to  the  ground,  rubbing  the  skin  off  their  legs  and 
hands  as  they  dropped. 

However,  they  did  not  consider  themselves  con- 
quered. On  the  contrary,  they  collected  a  bundle 
of  sticks,  and  placing  them  around  the  tree,  set  fire 


to  them.  In  less  time  than  it  takes  to  tell  it,  the 
pine  tree  took  fire  and  blazed  like  a  candle  blown 
by  the  wind.  Pinocchio,  seeing  that  the  flames 
mounted  higher  and  higher,  and  not  wishing  to  be 
roasted,  jumped  down  from  the  top  of  the  tree. 
Away  he  ran,  just  as  before,  with  the  assassins 
always  behind  and  never  getting  tired. 


PINOCCHIO  63 


Meanwhile  the  day  dawned  and  they  found  them- 
selves on  the  edge  of  a  large  trench  filled  with  dirty 
water,  just  the  color  of  coffee  and  cream.  What 
could  they  do  ?  "  One,  two,  three,"  said  Pinocchio  ; 
and  bending  down  and  making  a  great  spring,  he 
landed  safely  on  the  other  side.  The  assassins 
jumped  also,  but  they  did  not  take  the  right  meas- 
ure ;  and  splash  !  they  both  fell  into  the  trench. 
Pinocchio,  who  heard  the  plunge  and  the  splash, 
cried  out,  "  I  hope  you  had  a  nice  bath,  Mr.  Assas- 
sins !  "  and  then  began  to  run  again.  He  thought 
that  they  were  drowned  ;  but  looking  back,  he  saw 
them  running  as  before,  the  water  dripping  from 
their  wet  clothes  as  they  followed  him. 


CHAPTER   XV 


Then  the  marionette,  losing  his  courage,  was  on 
the  point  of  throwing  himself  on  the  ground  and 
giving  himself  up  as  conquered,  when,  looking 
around,  he  saw  in  the  middle  of  a  dark  forest, 
shining  afar,  a  little  house  as  white  as  snow.  "  If 
I  have  enough  breath  to  reach  that  house,  perhaps 
I  shall  be  saved,"  he  said  to  himself.  And  without 
delaying  a  minute,  he  began  to  run  through  the 
forest  as  fast  as  he  could.  The  assassins  still 
followed  him. 

Finally,  after  a  desperate  run  of  two  hours,  he 
arrived,  out  of  breath,  at  the  door  of  the  house 
and  knocked.  No  one  replied.  He  knocked  again 
with  great   force   because    he    heard    approaching 

64 


PINOCCHIO  65 


the  steps  and  heavy  breathing  of  his  pursuers. 
The  same  silence. 

Seeing  that  the  knocking  did  not  have  any  effect, 
he  began  to  kick  and  beat  the  door  in  desperation. 
Then  there  appeared  at  the  door  a  beautiful  Fairy 
with  blue  hair.  Her  hands  were  crossed  on  her 
breast.  When  she  saw  Pinocchio  she  said,  "  In 
this  house  there  is  no  one  ;  they  have  all  gone 
away." 

"Open  the  door  at  least  for  me,  won't  you?" 
cried  Pinocchio,  weeping. 

"I  am  also  waiting  to  go  away." 

Scarcely  had  she  said  this  when  the  Fairy  disap- 
peared and  the  window  closed  without  making  any 
noise. 

"  Oh,  beautiful  Fairy  with  the  Blue  Hair,"  cried 
Pinocchio,  "  open  the  door,  for  goodness'  sake  ! 
Have  compassion  on  a  poor  boy  followed  by 
assass —  "  But  he  could  not  finish  the  word  be- 
cause he  felt  himself  seized  by  the  neck.  Then 
he  heard  the  voices  of  his  captors  scolding  him 
and  crying,  "  Now  you  cannot  run  away  from  us 
again." 

The  marionette,  seeing  death  staring  him  in 
the  face,  trembled  so  that  all  his  joints  made 
a  great  noise  and  the  four  gold  pieces  jingled  in 
his  mouth. 


66 


PINOCCHIO 


"Now,"  said  the  assassins,  "will  you  open  your 
mouth  ?  Yes  or  no  ?  Ah,  you  do  not  reply  ?  All 
right  !  This  time  we  will  open  it  !  "  And  they 
took  two  knives,  sharp  as  razors,  and  —  zaff-zaff 
—  they  gave  him  two  strokes  in  the  middle  of 
the  back. 

Fortunately  the  marionette  was  made  of  good 
hard  wood.  The  blades  of  the  knives  broke  into 
several  pieces  and  the  assassins  were  left  looking 
at  each  other,  with  only  the  handles  of  the  knives 
in  their  hands. 

"I  understand,"  said  one  of  them.  "We  must 
hang  him.      Let  us  hang  him,  then." 

"  Let  us  hang  him,"  said  the  other. 

No  sooner  said  than  done.  They  bound  his 
hands  and   hanged    him   to   a    branch  of   a   tree 


PINOCCHIO  67 


called  the  Grand  Oak.  Then  they  sat  down  on 
the  ground  to  wait  until  the  marionette  should 
die.  After  three  hours,  however,  the  marionette's 
eyes  were  still  open  and  his  mouth  was  closed,  and 
he  kicked  harder  than  ever. 

Finally,  annoyed  by  this  long  delay,  they  turned 
to  Pinocchio  and  said  to  him,  laughing  aloud  : 
"  Good-by  until  to-morrow  morning  !  When  we 
return  here  we  hope  that  you  will  be  polite  enough 
to  die  and  have  your  mouth  opened  wide."  And 
they  went  away. 

Meanwhile  a  great  wind  began  to  blow  Pinoc- 
chio backward  and  forward,  just  like  a  large  bell. 
Although  he  felt  death  approaching,  yet  he  hoped 
every  moment  that  some  one  would  come  and  save 
him.  But  when  he  found  that  no  one  would  help 
him  he  remembered  his  poor  papa  and  stammered, 
"  Oh,  my  Papa,  if  you  were  only  here  now  !  "  But 
he  had  no  breath  to  say  any  more. 


1/ 


CHAPTER  XVI 


While  poor  Pinocchio  hung  from  the  branch  of  the 
Grand  Oak  and  appeared  more  dead  than  alive,  the 
beautiful  Fairy  with  the  Blue  Hair  came  to  the  win- 
dow. Pitying  the  poor  unfortunate  who  was  swing- 
ing backward  and  forward,  she  clapped  her  hands 
three  times.  At  this  signal  the  beating  of  wings 
was  heard  and  a  great  Falcon  came  and  placed  him- 
self on  the  window  sill. 

"  What  do  you  command,  my  gracious  Fairy  ?  " 
said  the  Falcon,  lowering  his  beak  in  a  bow  of 
reverence.     For  you  must  know  that  the  Fairy  with 

68 


PINOCCHIO  69 


the  Blue  Hair  was  none  other  than  a  beautiful 
enchantress,  who  for  more  than  a  thousand  years 
had  lived  in  the  neighborhood  of  this  forest. 

"  Do  you  see  that  marionette  hanging  on  yonder 
Grand  Oak  ?  " 

"  I  see  him." 

"  Fly  quickly  there  and  untie  with  your  strong 
beak  the  knot  that  holds  him  suspended  and  lay  him 
gently  on  the  ground." 

The  Falcon  flew  away  and  after  two  minutes 
returned,  saying,  "  That  which  you  have  com- 
manded is  done." 

"How  did  you  find  him  —  alive  or  dead  ? " 

"He  appeared  to  be  dead,  but  he  cannot  really 
be  so.  Scarcely  had  I  untied  the  knot  and  laid 
him  gently  on  the  ground  when  he  gave  a  sigh  and 
said,  '  Now  I  feel  better.'  " 

Then  the  Fairy  clapped  her  hands  twice  and  a 
Bearded  Dog  appeared,  walking  on  his  hind  legs, 
just  like  a  man.  The  Bearded  Dog  was  dressed  in 
livery.  He  had  a  cap  trimmed  with  gold  lace  and 
a  white  curly  wig  that  came  down  to  his  neck.  He 
wore  a  dress  coat  of  chocolate  color,  with  buttons 
of  brilliants  and  two  big  pockets  to  hold  bones. 
He  had  a  pair  of  short  boots  of  crimson  velvet  and 
he  carried  behind  him  a  sort  of  umbrella  cover  in 
which  he  put  his  tail  when  it  rained. 


?0  PINOCCHIO 


"  My  brave  Fido,"  said  the  Fairy  to  the  Bearded 
Dog,  "  go  quickly,  hitch  up  the  most  beautiful  car- 
riage in  my  stables  and  take  the  road  to  the  forest. 
When  you  arrive  under  the  Grand  Oak  you  will  find 
stretched  out  on  the  ground  a  poor  marionette,  half 
dead.  Take  him  up  carefully  and  bring  him  here. 
Do  you  understand  ?  " 

The  Bearded  Dog,  in  order  to  show  that  he  under- 
stood, shook  the  cover  to  his  tail  three  or  four  times 
and  departed  in  a  flash.  A  little  while  afterward 
a  beautiful  transparent  carriage,  all  trimmed  with 
canary-bird  feathers  and  lined  inside  with  cream- 
colored  cloth,  was  seen  to  come  from  the  stables. 
It  was  drawn  by  one  hundred  pairs  of  white  mice 
and  the  Bearded  Dog  sat  on  the  box  and  cracked 
his  whip  from  right  to  left  as  a  coachman  always 
does  when  he  fears  he  shall  be  late. 

A  quarter  of  an  hour  had  hardly  passed  when  the 
carriage  returned.  The  Fairy,  who  waited  at  the 
door,  took  the  marionette  in  her  arms  and  carried 
him  to  a  little  bed  of  mother-of-pearl,  which  she 
had  prepared  for  him.  Then  she  sent  immediately 
for  three  doctors.  They  soon  arrived,  one  after  the 
other.  They  were  a  Crow,  an  Owl,  and  a  Talking 
Cricket. 

"  I  should  like  to  know  from  you,  gentlemen," 
said  the  Fairy,  turning  to  the  three  doctors  who 


'-^'~.  _..>- 


71 


72  PINOCCHIO 


surrounded  the  bed  of  Pinocchio,  —  "I  should  like 
to  know  if  this  unhappy  marionette  is  dead  or  alive." 
At  this  invitation  the  Crow  stepped  forward, 
tested  the  pulse  of  Pinocchio,  tested  his  nose,  and 
then  his  little  toe.  When  he  had  tested  him  thor- 
oughly he   pronounced  these  words  :    "  It    is   my 


belief  that  the  marionette  is  quite  dead  ;  but  if 
through  some  awkwardness  he  should  not  be  dead, 
then  it  would  be  a  sure  sign  that  he  is  alive." 

"  It  pains  me,"  said  the  Owl,  "  to  have  to  contra- 
dict the  Crow,  my  illustrious  friend  and  colleague. 
To  me,  however,  the  marionette  is  quite  alive  ;  but 
if  through  some  awkwardness  he  should  not  be 
alive,  then  it  would  be  a  sure  sign  that  he  is  dead." 


PINOCCHIO  73 


"  And  have  you  nothing  to  say  ?  "  said  the  Fairy 
to  the  Talking  Cricket. 

"  I  say  that  a  prudent  doctor  should  be  quiet 
when  he  does  not  know  what  to  say.  Besides, 
that  marionette  has  a  familiar  face.  I  know  him 
a  little."K- 

Pinocchio,  who  until  then  had  been  as  immovable 
as  a  piece  of  wood,  began  to  tremble  so  violently 
that  he  shook  the  bed. 

"That  marionette,"  continued  the  Talking  Cricket, 
"is  a  good  for  nothing." 

Pinocchio  opened  his  eyes  and  then  closed  them 
suddenly. 

"  He  is  a  scamp,  a  rogue,  a  vagabond." 

Pinocchio  hid  his  face  under  the  covers. 

"That  marionette  is  a  disobedient  child  who  is 
killing  his  poor  papa." 

At  this  point  crying  and  sobbing  were  heard  in 
the  room.  Imagine  how  surprised  everybody  was 
when  the  covers  were  pulled  down  and  the  crying 
and  sobbing  were  found  to  come  from  Pinocchio  ! 

"When  the  dead  cry,"  said  the  Crow,  "it  is  a 
sign  that  they  are  on  the  road  to  recovery." 

"  It  grieves  me  to  contradict  my  illustrious  friend 
and  colleague,"  added  the  Owl,  "but  to  my  mind, 
when  trie  dead  cry  it  is  a  sign  that  they  do  not 
want  to  die." 


CHAPTER   XVII 


Scarcely  had  the  three  doctors  left  the  room 
when  the  Fairy  approached  Pinocchio,  and  after 
touching  his  forehead  perceived  that  he  had  taken 
a  fever  of  not  saying  anything. 

Then  she  put  a  little  bit  of  white  powder  in  a 
glass  of  water  and,  handing  it  to  the  marionette, 
said  to  him  sweetly,  "  Drink,  and  in  a  few  days 
you  will  be  cured."  Pinocchio  looked  at  the  glass, 
made  a  mouth,  then  with  a  voice  full  of  sobs  said, 
"  Is  it  sweet  or  bitter  ?  " 

"  It  is  bitter,  but  it  will  do  you  good." 

"  If  it  is  bitter,  I  do  not  want  it." 

"  Listen  to  me  ;  drink  it." 

"  I  do  not  like  bitter  things." 

"  Drink  it  ;  and  when  you  have  drunk  it  I  will 
give  you  a  little  ball  of  sugar  to  take  the  faste  out 
of  your  mouth." 

"  Where  is  the  ball  of  sugar  ?  " 
74 


pinocchio  75 


"  Here  it  is,"  said  the  Fairy,  taking  out  a  ball  of 
sugar. 

"  First  I  want  the  ball  of  sugar  ;  then  I  will 
drink  the  bitter  water." 

"  You  promise  me  ?  " 

"Yes." 

The  Fairy  gave  him  the  sugar,  and  Pinocchio, 
after  having  crushed  it  to  atoms,  said,  licking  his 
lips,  "  How  nice  !  If  sugar  could  only  be  medicine, 
I  would  take  it  all  day  long." 

"  Now  keep  your  promise  and  drink  these  few 
bitter  drops.     They  will  cure  you." 

Pinocchio  unwillingly  took  the  glass  in  his  hand 
and  put  it  under  his  nose  ;  then  he  put  it  to  his 
lips  ;  then  he  put  it  under  his  nose  again.  Finally 
he  said  :  "  It  is  too  bitter  !  It  is  too  bitter  !  I 
cannot  drink  it." 

"  How  can  you  say  that  when  you  have  not 
tasted  it?" 

"  I  know.  I  smell  it.  I  want  another  ball  of 
sugar  first  ;  then  I  will  drink  it." 

So  the  Fairy,  with  the  patience  of  an  indulgent 
mamma,  placed  in  his  mouth  another  ball  of  sugar 
and  then  gave  him  the  glass  again.  "  I  cannot  drink 
it,"  said  the  marionette,  making  numerous  grimaces. 

"Why?" 

"Because  that  pillow  on  my  feet  annoys  me." 


76 


PINOCCHIO 


The  Fairy  took  the  pillow  away. 

"  It  is  useless,  I  cannot  drink  it  even  now." 

"What  troubles  you  now?  " 

"That  door  is  half  open." 

The  Fairy  went  and  closed  the  door. 

"Really,"  cried  Pinocchio,  breaking  forth  into 
tears,  "  I  cannot  drink  that  bitter  water  !    No,  no,  no  !  " 

"My  child,  you  will  be  sorry." 

"  I  do  not  care." 

"  Your  fever  is  bad." 

"I  do  not  care." 

"  The  fever  will  carry  you  in  a  few  hours  to 
another  world." 

"  I  do  not  care." 

"  Have  you  no  fear  of  death  ?  " 

"  No.  I  have  no  fear.  I  would  rather  die  than 
take  that  bad  medicine." 

Just  at  that  moment  the  door  of  the  room  opened 
and  four  Rabbits,  black  as  ink,  entered,  carrying  on 
their  shoulders  a  coffin.     "What  do  you  want  with 


pinocchio  77 


me  ?  "  cried  Pinocchio,  straightening  himself  up  in 
his  bed. 

"We  have  come  to  take  you  away,"  replied  the 
largest  Rabbit. 

"  To  take  me  away  ?     But  I  am  not  dead  !  " 

"  Not  now,  no  ;  but  you  have  only  a  few  more 
moments  of  life,  having  refused  to  drink  the  medi- 
cine that  would  cure  your  fever." 

"Oh,  my  Fairy!  oh,  my  Fairy!"  screamed  the 
marionette  ;  "  give  me  the  glass  quickly.  Send 
them  away  ;  for  I  do  not  wish  to  die."  And  he 
took  the  glass  in  both  hands  and  swallowed  the 
medicine  at  one  gulp. 

"  Oh,  pshaw  !  "  said  the  Rabbits  ;  "  we  have  made 
this  trip  for  nothing."  And  placing  the  coffin  on 
their  shoulders  again,  the  Rabbits  went  out  of  the 
room  grumbling  and  muttering  between  their  teeth. 

The  fact  was  that  a  few  moments  later  Pinocchio 
jumped  down  from  the  bed  well  and  strong  ;  for 
you  must  know  that  wooden  marionettes  have  the 
advantage  of  rarely  being  sick,  and  when  they  are 
they  get  well  quickly.  The  Fairy,  seeing  hdm  run 
through  the  room  as  lively  and  bright  as  a  little 
chicken  just  out  of  its  shell,  said  to  him,  "Then  my 
medicine  has  cured  you  ?  " 

"  Yes,  indeed  !  It  has  brought  me  back  to  this 
world" 


yS  PINOCCHIO 


"Then  why  was  it  that  you  begged  me  not  to 
make  you  drink  it  ?  " 

"  Boys  always  behave  so.  We  have  more  fear 
of  the  medicine  than  of  the  sickness." 

"  Shame  on  you  !  Boys  ought  to  know  that  a 
good  medicine  taken  in  time  may  save  them  from 
serious  trouble  and  perhaps  from  death." 

"  Oh  !  another  time  I  will  not  behave  so  badly. 
I  will  remember  the  black  Rabbits  with  the  coffin 
on  their  shoulders  and  then  I  will  take  the  medi- 
cine quickly." 

"  Now  come  here  and  tell  me  how  it  happened 
that  you  fell  into  the  hands  of  assassins." 

"Well,  it  happened  in  this  way.  The  manager 
of  the  marionettes,  Fire  Eater,  gave  me  five  pieces 
of  gold  and  said  to  me,  '  Take  these  to  your  poor 
papa.'  I  met  on  the  road  a  Fox  and  a  Cat,  two  very 
nice  persons,  who  said  to  me  :  *  Do  you  wish  those 
pieces  to  become  two  thousand  ?  Come  with  us 
and  we  will  take  you  to  the  Field  of  Wonders.'  I 
said,  '  Let  us  go  '  ;  and  they  said,  '  Let  us  stop  at 
the  Red  Lobster  Inn,  and  after  midnight  we  will 
continue  our  journey.'  When  I  awoke  I  found  that 
they  had  gone.  I  then  began  to  walk  alone  in  the 
dark  and  I  met  two  coal  sacks  with  assassins  inside 
who  said  to  me,  '  Give  us  your  money.'  I  said,  '  I 
have  none';  I  hid  the  gold  pieces  in  my  mouth. 


PINOCCHIO 


79 


One  of  the  assassins  tried  to  make  me  open  my 
mouth,  but  I  ran  away  as  fast  as  I  could  across 
the  fields.  I  climbed  a  tree,  but  they  set  fire  to 
it  and  forced  me  to  take  to  my  heels  again.  The 
assassins  ran  after  me  until  they  caught  me.  They 
hanged  me  to  a  tree,  and  said,  '  To-morrow  we  will 
come  back,  and  then  you  will  be  dead  and  we  can 
open  your  mouth.  Then  we  shall  be  able  to  get 
the  gold  that  is  hidden  under  your 
tongue.'  " 

"And  where  have  you 
put  the  four  pieces  of  gold 
now  ?  "  asked  the  Fairy. 

"  I  have  lost  them," 
replied  Pinocchio.  But 
he  told  a  lie  ;  for  he  had 
them  in  his  pocket. 

Scarcely  had  he  told 
this  lie  when  his  nose, 
which  was  already  long, 
grew  two  fingers  longer. 

"And  where  did  you  lose  them  ? 

"In  the  forest." 

At  this  second  lie  his  nose  grew  still  longer. 

"If  you  have  lost  them  in  the  forest,  we  will 
look  for  them  and  find  them,  because  all  that  is 
lost  in  my  forest  is  always  found  again." 


8o  PINOCCHIO 


"  Oh,  now  I  remember  well,"  replied  Pinocchio  ; 
"the  four  pieces  of  money  were  swallowed  when  I 
took  that  medicine." 

At  this  third  lie  the  nose  grew  so  long  that 
poor  Pinocchio  could  not  turn  himself  round  in 
the  room.  If  he  turned  to  one  side,  it  struck  the 
bed  or  the  glass  in  the  window  ;  if  he  turned  to 
the  other  side,  it  struck  the  walls  or  the  door  of 
the  room  ;  if  he  raised  his  head,  he  ran  the  risk 
of  putting  out  one  of  the  Fairy's  eyes. 

And  the  Fairy  looked  and  laughed. 

"Why  do  you  laugh?"  asked  the  marionette, 
quite  confused  and  surprised  because  his  nose  had 
grown  so  long. 

"  I  laugh  at  the  foolish  lies  you  have  told." 

"  How  do  you  know  that  I  have  told  lies  ?  " 

"  Lies,  my  boy,  are  recognized  immediately, 
because  there  are  two  kinds  :  there  are  lies  that 
have  short  legs  and  lies  that  have  long  noses. 
Yours  seem  to  have  long  noses." 

Pinocchio,  not  knowing  where  to  hide  himself 
for  shame,  tried  to  get  out  of  the  room,  but  he 
did  not  succeed.  His  nose  had  grown  so  large 
that  he  could  not  go  through  the  door.  /** 


CHAPTER   XVIII 

What  do  you  think  ?  The  Fairy  let 
the  marionette  cry  and  weep  for  a  good 
half  hour  because  he  could  not  go 
through  the  door  on  account  of  the 
length  of  his  nose.  She  did  this  be- 
cause she  wished  to  teach  him  a  lesson  and  show 
him  how  naughty  he  had  been.  But  when  she  saw 
him  so  disfigured,  his  eyes  nearly  out  of  his  head 
with  desperation,  she  was  moved  to  pity  and  struck 
her  hands  together.  At  that  signal  about  a  thou- 
sand birds  called  Woodpeckers  flew  into  the  room 
and,  placing  themselves  on  Pinocchio's  nose,  picked 
at  it  so  hard  that  in  a  few  minutes  it  was  reduced 
to  its  usual  size. 

"  How  good  you  are,  my  Fairy  !  "  said  the  mario- 
nette, drying  his  eyes,  "and  how  I  like  you  !  " 

"I  like  you  too,"  replied  the  Fairy,  "and  if  you 
will  remain  with  me,  you  shall  be  my  little  brother 
and  I  will  be  your  little  sister." 

"  I  will  stay  willingly  —  but  my  poor  papa  !  " 
81 


82 


PINOCCHIO 


"  I  have  thought  of  everything  ;  your  father  has 
been  told  already  and  before  night  he  will  be  here." 

"  Truly  ?  "  cried  Pinocchio,  jumping  with  joy. 
"  Then,  my  Fairy,  if  you  are  willing,  I  should  like 
to  go  to  meet  him.  I  cannot  wait  to  kiss  that  good 
old  man,  who  has  suffered  so  much  for  me." 

"  Go,  but  do  not  lose  your  way.  Take  the  road 
to  the  forest  and  I  am  sure  you  will  find  him." 

Pinocchio  departed.  As  soon  as  he  entered  the 
forest  he  began  to  run  like  a  deer.  But  when  he 
arrived  at  a  certain  point,  nearly  in  front  of  the 
Grand  Oak,  he  stopped  because  he  thought  he 
heard  some  one.  Indeed,  he  saw  on  the  road  — 
whom,  do  you  suppose? — the  Fox  and  the  Cat,  that 


PINOCCHIO  S3 


is,  the  two  companions  with  whom  he  supped  at  the 
inn  called  the  Red  Lobster. 

"  Here  is  our  dear  friend  Pinocchio  !  "  cried  the 
Fox,  hugging  and  kissing  him.  "  How  did  you  ever 
get  here  ?  " 

"  How  did  you  ever  get  here  ?  "  repeated  the 
Cat. 

fit  is  a  long  story,"  said  the  marionette,  "and 
I  will  tell  you  when  I  have  time.  You  know  the 
night  when  you  left  me  alone  at  the  inn  I  met 
some  assassins  on  the  road." 

"  Assassins  ?  Oh,  my  poor  friend  !  and  what  did 
they  want  ?  " 

"T^iey  wished  to  rob  me  of  my  money." 

"Infamous  !  "  said  the  Fox. 

"  Most  infamous  !  "  said  the  Cat. 

"But  I  started  to  run,"  continued  the  mario- 
nette, "and  they  ran  after  me  until  they  caught 
me  and  hanged  me  to  a  branch  of  that  large  oak." 
And  Pinocchio  pointed  to  the  Grand  Oak  that  was 
not  far  away. 

"One  could  not  imagine  anything  worse,"  said 
the  Fox.  "  In  what  a  world  are  we  condemned  to 
live  !     And  now  what  are  you  doing  here  ?  " 

"  I  am  waiting  for  my  papa,  who  may  arrive  at 
any  moment." 

"And  your  money,  where  is  that  ?  " 


84  PINOCCHIO 


"  I  have  it  all,  less  the  piece  I  spent  at  the  inn 
called  the  Red  Lobster." 

"And  to  think  that  instead  of  four  pieces  they 
might  become  two  thousand  by  to-morrow  !  Why 
did  you  not  follow  my  advice  ?  Why  do  you  not 
sow  them  in  the  Field  of  Wonders  ?  " 

"  To-day  it  is  impossible.    I  will  go  another  time." 

"Another  time  will  be  too  late,"  said  the  Fox. 

"Why?" 

"Because  that  field  has  been  bought  by  a  rich 
man,  and  after  to-morrow  no  one  will  be  permitted 
to  sow  there  any  more." 

"  How  far  is  the  Field  of  Wonders  from  here  ?  " 

"  Hardly  two  miles.  Will  you  come  with  us  ? 
In  half  an  hour  we  shall  be  there.  You  can  sow  the 
money  quickly,  and  after  a  few  moments  you  can 
return  home  with  your  pockets  full.  Will  you  come 
with  us  ?" 

Pinocchio  hesitated  a  little  because  he  thought 
of  the  good  Fairy,  of  old  Geppetto,  and  of  the  ad- 
vice of  the  Talking  Cricket  ;  but,  after  the  fashion 
of  foolish,  heartless  boys,  he  finally  yielded.  With 
a  shake  of  his  head  he  said  to  the  Fox  and  the  Cat, 
"  Come  on,  I  wall  go  with  you."     And  they  started. 

After  having  walked  half  a  day  they  arrived  at 
a  city  called  Stupid-catchers.  As  soon  as  they 
entered  the  city  Pinocchio  saw  all  the  streets  full 


PINOCCHIO 


85 


of  sick  dogs  that  gaped  for  food  ;  clipped  sheep 
that  shook  from  the  cold  ;  featherless  chickens  that 
begged  for  alms  ;  big  butterflies  that  could  not  fly 


any  more  because  they  had  sold  their  beautiful 
wings  for  a  few  pennies  and  were  ashamed  to  be 
seen  ;  and  pheasants  that  limped,  bewailing  their 
brilliant  gold  and  silver  feathers  now  lost  to  them 
forever. 


86  PINOCCHIO 


In  the  midst  of  the  crowd  of  beggars  and  un- 
fortunates they  passed  from  time  to  time  several 
fine  carriages  filled  with  people,  each  of  whom 
turned  out  to  be  a  Fox  or  a  thieving  Magpie  or  a 
Bird  of  Prey. 

"  Where  is  the  Field  of  Wonders  ?  "  asked 
Pinocchio. 

"  Only  a  few  step-s  farther." 

And  so  it  proved.  They  walked  through  the 
city,  and  outside  the  walls  they  stopped  in  a  field 
which  looked  much  like  other  fields.  No  one  was 
in  sight. 

"Here  we  are  at  last,"  said  the  Fox.  "Now 
you  must  stoop  down  and  dig  a  hole  and  put  the 
money  inside." 

Pinocchio  obeyed,  dug  a  hole,  put  in  the  money, 
and  then  covered  it  over  with  earth. 

"  Now  then,"  said  the  Fox,  "  go  to  that  well  and 
take  a  little  water  and  sprinkle  the  ground  where 
you  have  sown." 

Pinocchio  went  to  the  well.  Because  he  had 
nothing  in  which  to  carry  water,  he  took  his  shoe 
and,  filling  it,  came  back  and  sprinkled  the  spot 
where  he  had  sown  the  money.  Then  he  asked, 
"Is  there  anything  else?" 

"  Nothing  else,"  replied  the  Fox.  "  Now  we  shall 
go  away.     You  may  return  here  in  about  twenty 


PINOCCHIO 


87 


minutes  and  you  will  find  a  large  vine  with  its 
branches  covered  with  money." 

The  poor  marionette,  nearly  crazy  with  joy, 
thanked  the  Fox  and  the  Cat  a  thousand  times 
and  promised  them  a  beautiful  present. 

"We  wish  nothing,"  they  replied.  "To  us  it  is 
enough  to  have  taught  others  the  way  to  get  rich 
without  doing  anything  ;  and  we  are  as  contented 
as  we  can  be." 

Thus  saying,  they  bowed  to  Pinocchio  and,  wish- 
ing him  a  good  harvest,  went  away. 


qT^ 


CHAPTER   XIX 

The  marionette,  returning  to  the  city,  began  to 
count  the  minutes  one  by  one.  When  he  thought 
it  was  time  to  go  back  he  took  the  road  that  led  to 
the  Field  of  Wonders.  And  while  he  walked  along 
his  heart  beat  in  his  bosom  like  a  big  hall  clock  — 
tic-tac-tic-tac.  Meanwhile  he  was  thinking  to  him- 
self :  "And  if,  instead  of  two  thousand,  I  should  find 
five  thousand  ?  Oh,  what  a  rich  man  I  should  be  ! 
I  would  have  a  palace  and  a  thousand  wooden  horses 
and  carriages  to  amuse  me  ;  I  would  have  a  cellar 
filled  with  good  things,  a  library  filled  with  candy, 
Dutch  cake,  almond  cake,  and  cinnamon  stick." 

Thus  imagining,  he  arrived  at  the  field.  He 
stopped  to  look  for  the  large  vine  with  many 
branches,  but  he  saw  nothing.  He  took  a  few 
steps  more.  Nothing.  He  entered  the  field  and 
went  right  to  the  hole  where  he  had  planted  his 
money.  There  was  nothing  there.  Then  he  be- 
came thoughtful  and   began   to  wonder  what  he 

should  do  next. 

8S 


PINOCCHIO  89 


Just  then  he  heard  a  whistling  in  his  ears  as  if 
some  one  were  laughing.  Looking  up,  he  saw  on 
a  tree  a  big  Parrot  who  was  preening  his  feathers. 

"Why  do  you  laugh?"  asked  Pinocchio  in  an 
angry  voice. 

"  I  laugh  because  in  cleaning  my  feathers  I 
tickled  myself  under  my  wings." 

The  marionette  did  not  reply.  He  went  to  the 
well  and  sprinkled  again  the  place  where  he  had 
buried  his  money.  When  he  had  done  this  he  heard 
a  laugh  more  impertinent  .than  the  first  one.  It 
sounded  very  loud  in  the  solitude  of  the  field. 

"  Well,"  said  Pinocchio,  wrathfully,  "  tell  me,  if 
you  can,  ignorant  Parrot,  why  you  laugh  now." 

"  I  laugh  at  those  silly  heads  who  believe  every- 
thing that  is  told  them." 

"  Do  you  refer  to  me  ?  " 

"  Yes,  I  speak  of  you,  poor  Pinocchio.  You  are 
foolish  enough  to  think  that  money,  if  sowed  prop- 
erly, will  grow  like  grain  and  plants.  I  thought  so 
once,  and  in  consequence  I  have  to-day  very  few 
feathers.  Now  that  it  is  too  late  to  mend  matters, 
I  have  made  up  my  mind  that  in  order  to  get  to- 
gether a  few  pennies  it  is  necessary  to  work  with 
your  hands  or  invent  something  with  your  head." 

"I  do  not  understand,"  said  the  marionette,  who 
already  began  to  tremble  with  fear. 


go  PINOCCHIO 


"  I  will  explain  better,"  said  the  Parrot.  "Know, 
then,  that  while  you  were  in  the  city  the  Fox  and 
the  Cat  returned  here.  They  took  the  money  and 
then  fled  like  the  wind.  And  now  they  cannot  be 
caught."  , 

Pinocchio  remained  with  his  mouth  wide  open. 
Unwilling  to  believe  the  words  of  the  Parrot,  he 
began  with  his  hands  and  nails  to  dig  out  the  dirt 
where  he  had  planted  his  money.  And  he  dug 
and  dug  and  dug  until  he  had  made  a  hole  large 
enough  for  a  haystack  ;  but  the  money  was  not 
there. 

In  desperation  he  returned  to  the  town.  There 
he  went  before  the  .tribunal  and  denounced  the 
highwaymen  who  had  stolen  his  money. 

The  judge  was  a  Monkey  of  the  race  of  Gorilla. 
He  was  old  and  looked  respectable  on  account  of 
his  white  beard,  and  especially  so  on  account  of  his 
gold  eyeglasses  with  no  glass  in  them.  These  he 
wore  all  the  time  because  of  a  weakness  of  the 
eyes,  which  had  troubled  him  for  many  years. 

Pinocchio  told  the  judge  everything  ;  gave  the 
names  and  addresses  of  the  highwaymen,  and  fin- 
ished by  asking  for  justice. 

The  judge  listened  with  much  dignity.  He  took 
a  lively  interest  in  the  story  and  seemed  quite 
moved.    When  the  marionette  had  no  more  to  say, 


91 


92  PINOCCHIO 


the  judge  stretched  out  his  hand  and  rang  the  bell. 
At  that  sound  two  large  mastiff  dogs  entered, 
dressed  like  soldiers.  Then  the  judge,  pointing  to 
Pinocchio,  said  to  them  :  "  This  poor  idiot  has  had 
his  money  stolen.    Take  him  and  put  him  in  prison." 

The  marionette,  hearing  this  sentence,  began  to 
protest  ;  but  the  mastiffs,  not  wishing  to  waste 
time,  covered  his  mouth  and  led  him  to  a  cell. 

And  there  he  remained  four  months  and  would 
have  been  there  much  longer  if  something  fortunate 
had  not  happened.  You  must  know,  little  readers, 
that  the  young  emperor  of  the  city  called  Stupid- 
catchers  had  just  won  a  brilliant  victory  over  his 
enemies.  So  he  ordered  a  grand  festival,  fireworks 
and  all  sorts  of  parades,  and  to  further  celebrate 
his  victory  he  opened  all  the  prisons  and  liberated 
the  convicts. 

"  If  the  other  prisoners  go  out,  I  must  go  out 
too,"  said  Pinocchio  to  the  guard. 

"  You  ?  "  replied  the  guard  ;  "  no,  because  you 
are  not  a  convict." 

"  Excuse  me,"  replied  Pinocchio,  "  I  am  as  bad 
as  any  of  them." 

"In  that  case  you  are  right,"  said  the  guard; 
and  raising  his  hat  respectfully  and  saluting  him, 
he  opened  the  door  of  his  cell  and  allowed  him  to 
escape. 


CHAPTER   XX 


Just  imagine  how  happy  Pinocchio  was  when  he 
felt  himself  free  !  It  is  impossible  to  tell  it.  He 
quickly  left  the  city  and  took  the  road  that  led  to 
the  house  of  the  Fairy. 

The  roads  were  all  soft  because  it  had  rained, 
and  at  every  step  he  went  up  to  his  knees  in  mud. 
But  he  did  not  let  that  stop  him.  Wild  with  long- 
ing to  see  again  his  papa  and  his  dear  little  sister 
with  the  blue  hair,  he  ran  and  jumped  on  the  dry 
places  like  a  hare,  and  in  running  he  splashed  the 
mud  all  over  his  clothes  and  hat. 

While  he  went  along  he  thought  :  "  How  unfor- 
tunate I  have  been  !     But  I  deserve  it  all,  because 

93 


94  PINOCCHIO 


I  am  a  headstrong  and  touchy  marionette.  I  always 
wish  to  do  things  my  way,  without  paying  any 
attention  to  those  who  love  me  and  who  are  a  thou- 
sand times  wiser  than  I.  But  from  now  on  I  will 
change  my  life  and  become  a  good,  obedient  boy. 
I  have  found  out  that  boys  who  are  disobedient 
always  lose  in  the  long  run.  And  my  poor  papa 
has  waited  for  me  so  long  !  I  shall  find  him  at 
the  house  of  the  Fairy.  It  is  so  long  since  I  have 
seen  him  that  I  will  give  him  a  thousand  hugs  and 
kisses.  And  the  Fairy  will  pardon  my  naughtiness 
in  going  away.  To  think  that  I  have  received 
from  her  so  much  goodness  and  kindness  !  And 
to  think  also  that  I  owe  my  life  to  her  !  But  no 
one  can  be  more  thankful  than  I  am." 

He  had  scarcely  said  this  last  word  when  he 
stopped  suddenly,  very  much  frightened,  and  took 
four  steps  backward.  What  do  you  think  he  saw  ? 
—  a  big  Serpent  stretched  out  on  the  road  !  It  had 
a  green  skin,  eyes  of  fire,  and  a  tail  that  smoked  at 
the  end  just  like  a  chimney  ! 

It  is  impossible  to  imagine  the  fear  of  the  mario- 
nette, who,  going  some  distance  away,  sat  down 
on  a  heap  of  stones  and  waited  for  the  Serpent  to 
go  away  so  that  the  road  would  be  left  free.  He 
waited  one  hour,  two  hours,  three  hours  ;  but  the 
Serpent  did  not  move.     Pinocchio  could  see  nothing 


PINOCCHIO  95 


but  the  eyes  of  fire  and  the  smoking  tail.  Then, 
screwing  up  his  courage,  the  marionette  approached 
within  a  few  paces  of  the  Serpent  and  said  in  a 
kind,  sweet  voice  :  "  Excuse  me,  Mr.  Serpent  ;  would 
you  oblige  me  by  moving  to  one  side  so  that  I  can 
pass  ?  "  It  was  as  if  he  talked  to  a  wall.  There 
was  no  response. 

Then  Pinocchio  said  in  the  same  kind  tone  : 
"You  must  know,  Mr.  Serpent,  that  I  am  going 
home,  where  my  papa  is  waiting  for  me.  Are  you 
willing  that  I  should  pass  and  go  on  my  way  ?  " 

He  waited  for  some  sign  of  response,  but  the 
reply  did  not  come.  On  the  contrary,  the  Serpent, 
which  until  then  had  been  quite  lively,  became 
quiet  and  nearly  benumbed.  His  eyes  closed  and 
his  tail  stopped  smoking. 

"  He  is  dead,  truly,"  thought  Pinocchio,  rubbing 
his  hands  with  satisfaction.  Without  waiting  any 
longer,  he  started  to  jump  over  him  so  as  to  pass 
to  the  other  side.  But  he  had  hardly  lifted  his  leg 
when  the  Serpent  rose  suddenly,  like  a  spring  let 
loose.  The  marionette,  trying  to  jump  back,  tripped 
and  fell  to  the  ground  with  such  force  that  he  landed 
with  his  head  half  stuck  in  the  mud  and  his  feet  in 
the  air. 

At  the  sight  of  the  marionette  kicking  his  legs 
with  incredible  velocity  the  Serpent  was  seized  with 


96 


PINOCCHIO 


convulsions  of  laughter.  He  laughed  and  laughed 
and  laughed  with  such  force  that  he  broke  a  blood 
vessel  and  died. 

Then  Pinocchio  started  again  to  run  along  the 
road,  hoping  to  reach  the  house  of  the  Fairy  before 
dark.     Along  the  way,  however,  he  was  overcome 


by  hunger.  So  he  jumped  into  a  field  to  see  if  he 
could  find  a  bunch  of  grapes.  Here,  too,  he  was 
unfortunate. 

As  soon  as  he  arrived  under  the  vine  —  crac  — 
he  felt  his  legs  caught  by  two  pieces  of  iron  that 
made  him  see  several  new  stars  in  the  heavens. 
The  poor  marionette  found  himself  fast  in  a  trap 
which  had  been  placed  there  by  a  farmer  in  order 
to  catch  a  thieving  Weasel  of  the  neighborhood. 


CHAPTER   XXI 


Pinocchio,  you  may  well  believe,  began  to  cry  and 
scream  ;  but  it  was  useless  because  there  was  not 
a  house  near  him  and  no  one  passed  along  the  road. 
In  the  meantime  night  came  on.  The  trap  hurt 
him  so  much,  and  he  was  so  afraid  of  the  dark, 
that  he  nearly  fainted  with  pain  and  fright.  Sud- 
denly he  saw  a  firefly,  and  he  called  out  to  it,  "  O 
Firefly,  will  you  help  me  to  get  away  from  here?" 

"  Poor  boy  !  "  replied  the  Firefly,  stopping  to  look 
at  Pinocchio  ;  "  how  did  you  ever  get  your  legs 
caught  in  that  trap?  ' 

"  I  came  into  the  field  in  order  to  get  a  bunch 
of  grapes  and  — " 

"  But  are  the  grapes  yours  ?  " 

"No." 

97 


98  PINOCCHIO 


"  Then  who  has  taught  you  to  steal  other  people's 
things?" 

"  I  was  hungry." 

"  Hunger,  my  boy,  is  not  a  good  reason  for  steal- 
ing anybody's  things." 

"That  is  true!  that  is  true  1  "  cried  Pinocchio, 
weeping  ;  "and  another  time  I  will  not  do  it." 

Just  here  the  conversation  was  interrupted  by 
the  sound  of  footsteps  that  came  nearer  and  nearer. 
The  owner  of  the  field  had  come  on  tiptoe  to  see 
if  one  of  the  Weasels  that  ate  his  chickens  at 
night  had  been  caught.  He  was  greatly  surprised 
when,  taking  out  a  dark  lantern,  he  saw,  instead 
of  a  Weasel,  a  boy. 

"Ah,  you  little  thief!"  said  the  angry  farmer. 
"  Then  you  are  the  one  that  carries  away  my 
chickens  !  " 

"I?  No,"  cried  Pinocchio,  sobbing.  "I  went 
into  the  field  for  a  bunch  of  grapes." 

"  He  who  steals  grapes  is  also  capable  of  stealing 
chickens.  Leave  it  to  me  ;  I  will  give  you  a  lesson 
that  you  will  remember  for  some  time." 

He  opened  the  trap,  took  the  marionette  by  the 
back  of  the  neck  like  a  kitten,  and  carried  him 
to  his  house.  When  he  reached  his  door  he  said  to 
Pinocchio  :  "  Now  it  is  late  and  I  want  to  go  to 
bed.     We  will  settle  our  affairs  to-morrow.     Mean- 


PINOCCHIO  99 


while,  as  my  dog  died  to-day,  I  will  put  you  into 
his  house.      I  will  make  you  my  watchdog." 

No  sooner  said  than  done.  He  took  a  dog  collar 
and  put  it  on  Pinocchio's  neck.  Attached  to  this 
collar  was  a  chain  that  was  fastened  to  the  wall. 

"  If  it  begins  to  rain  to-night,"  said  the  farmer, 
"there  is  some  straw  inside  that  has  served  as  a 
bed  for  the  dog  for  four  years.  You  may  go  in  and 
rest  there.  And  if  robbers  come  into  the  yard, 
remember  to  watch  them  carefully  and  to  bark." 

After  this  last  warning  the  farmer  entered  his 
house,  closing  the  door  noisily  ;  and  the  poor  mario- 
nette was  left  squatting  in  the  barnyard  more  dead 
than  alive  from  cold,  hunger,  and  fear.  From 
time  to  time  he  placed  his  hands  between  his  collar 
and  his  neck  because  the  collar  hurt  him,  saying  to 
himself  as  he  did  so  :  "I  deserve  it  all.  I  wanted 
to  run  away.  I  wanted  to  listen  to  the  advice  of 
bad  companions,  and  that  is  the  reason  why  I  am  so 
unhappy.  If  I  had  been  a  good  boy  as  so  many 
boys  are,  if  I  had  wished  to  study  and  to  work,  if 
I  had  remained  at  home  with  my  papa,  I  should  not 
find  myself  here  now,  sleeping  in  a  dog  house  and 
watching  a  chicken  coop  !  Oh,  if  only  I  could 
begin  all  over  again  !     But  now  it  is  too  late." 

Having  thought  all  this,  he  entered  the  dog  house 
and  fell  asleep. 


CHAPTER   XXII 


After  he  had  slept  two  hours  he  was  awakened 
at  midnight  by  a  whispering  which  sounded  like 
pist  !  pist  !  It  appeared  to  come  from  the  barn- 
yard. He  put  his  nose  out  of  the  hole  in  the  dog 
house  and  saw  four  little  beasts  that  looked  some- 
what like  cats.  But  they  were  not  cats  ;  they 
were  Weasels,  —  carnivorous  animals  who  eat  young 
chickens.  One  of  the  Weasels,  leaving  his  com- 
panions, went  to  the  hole  in  the  dog  house  and 
said  in  a  low  voice,   •'  Good  evening,   Bruno." 

"  I  am  not  called  Bruno." 

"  Oh,  then,  who  are  you  ?  " 

"  I  am  Pinocchio." 

"  What  are  you  doing  here  ?  " 

"  I  am  playing  watchdog." 

"  Oh,  where  is  Bruno  ?  Where  is  the  old  dog 
that  lived  in  this  house  ?  " 

"He  died  this  morning." 
ioo 


PINOCCHIO  ioi 


"  Dead  ?  Poor  beast  !  He  was  so  good  !  But 
judging  from  your  face  you  are  also  a  nice  dog." 

"  Excuse  me,  I  am  not  a  dog." 

"  What  are  you  ?  " 

"  I  am  a  marionette." 

"  And  you  play  watchdog  ?  " 

"  Yes,  it  is  true  ;  I  do  so  for  a  punishment." 

"  Well,  I  propose  to  you  the  same  agreement 
that  I  had  with  the  dead  Bruno.    Are  you  willing?  " 

"What  are  the  conditions  ?  " 

"  We  will  come  here  once  a  week,  as  we  have 
done  in  the  past,  to  pay  a  nocturnal  visit  to  this 
chicken  house  ;  and  we  will  carry  away  eight  chick- 
ens. Of  these  we  will  eat  seven  and  give  you  one, 
on  condition  —  understand  well  —  that  you  will 
pretend  to  sleep  and  not  come  out  and  bark  and 
thus  awaken  the  farmer." 

"  And  Bruno  did  that  ?  "  asked  Pinocchio. 

"  Oh,  yes,  and  we  got  along  very  nicely.  You  sleep 
quietly  and  you  may  be  sure  that  before  we  go  away 
we  will  leave  a  nice  fat  chicken  for  your  breakfast  to- 
morrow morning.    Do  you  understand  ?  " 

"Very  well,"  replied  Pinocchio.  But  he  shook 
his  head  as  if  he  would  have  said,  "  In  a  little  while 
we  will  talk  about  this  again." 

When  the  four  Weasels  felt  that  they  were  free 
from  harm  they  walked  toward  the  chicken  coop, 


102  PINOCCHIO 


which  was  very  near  the  dog  house.  They  opened 
the  door  with  their  teeth  and  nails  and  filed  in  one 
by  one.  "  But  they  were  hardly  inside  when  they 
heard  the  door  close  with  a  bang. 

Who  was  it  that  had  closed  the  door  ?  Why,  it 
was  Pinocchio,  who,  not  contented  with  the  latch 
that  held  the  door,  placed  a  big  stone  there  besides. 
And  then  he  began  to  bark,  and  he  barked  just 
like  a  watchdog  —  bui  bui  bn!  bui 

At  that  sound  the  farmer  jumped  out  of  bed, 
took  his  gun,  and,  coming  to  the  window,  said, 
"  What  is  the  matter  ?  " 

"The  robbers  are  here,"  cried  Pinocchio. 

"  Where  are  they?  " 

"  In  the  chicken  coop.  " 

"  I  will  come  down  right  away." 

Before  any  one  could  say  "  Boo  !  "  the  farmer 
came  down.  After  he  had  caught  the  four  Weasels 
and  put  them  into  a  sack,  he  looked  at  the  sack 
with  genuin£  satisfaction  and  said  :  "You,  then,  are 
the  ones  who  have  been  stealing  my  chickens  ! 
I  ought  to  punish  you,  but  you  are  beneath  my 
notice.  I  will  content  myself  instead  with  carry- 
ing you  to  the  town  near  by,  where  they  will  take 
you  off  my  hands.  It  is  an  honor  you  do  not 
deserve,  but  generous  men  do  not  mind  taking 
this  little  trouble." 


PINOCCHIO  103 


Then,  approaching  Pinocchio,  he  caressed  him, 
and  among  other  things  asked  him  :  "  How  did  you 
ever  catch  these  four  robbers  ?  And  to  think  that 
Bruno,  my  good  and  faithful  Bruno,  could  not  do 
it!" 

The  marionette  then  would  have  told  all  he  knew 
about  the  shameful  contract  between  the  dog  and 
the  Weasels  ;  but  remembering  that  the  dog  was 
dead,  he  said  to  himself  :  "  Why  should  I  accuse  the 
dead  ?  The  dead  are  dead  and  the  best  thing  to 
do  is  to  leave  them  in  peace." 

"  Were  you  asleep  when  the  Weasels  came  into 
the  yard  ?  "  asked  the  farmer. 

"  I  was  asleep,"  replied  Pinocchio,  "  but  they 
awoke  me  with  their  chattering,  and  one  came  to 
my  house  and  said  :  '  If  you  promise  not  to  bark 
and  not  to  wake  up  the  farmer,  we  will  give  you  a 
nice  fat  chicken  for  a  present.'  You  understand? 
How  could  they  have  the  face  to  say  that  to  me  ? 
I  am  only  a  marionette  and  have  all  the  faults  of 
marionettes,  but  I  never  enter  into  a  contract  with 
thieves." 

"  Brave  boy  !  "  cried  the  farmer,  patting  him  on 
the  shoulder.  "  These  sentiments  do  you  honor, 
and  to  prove  to  you  my  great  satisfaction  I  leave 
you  free  to  return  to  your  house." 

And  he  took  off  the  dog's  collar,  j/ 


CHAPTER   XXIII 


As  soon  as  Pinocchio  was  relieved  from  the 
weight  of  the  hard  and  humiliating  collar  he  started 
to  run  across  the  fields  ;  and  he  did  not  stop  one 
minute  until  he  had  reached  the  road  that  led  to 
the  house  of  the  Fairy. 

When  he  reached  the  road  he  looked  down  on 
the  forest  where  he  had  unfortunately  met  the  Fox 
and  the  Cat,  and  there  in  the  middle  he  saw  the 
great  oak  to  which  they  had  hanged  him.  He 
looked  in  the  direction  of  the  little  white  house 
where  the  Fairy  with  the  Blue  Hair  lived,  but  he 
could  not  find  it  at  all. 

Then    a   feeling    of    sadness    came    over   him.    , 
Nevertheless  he  ran  as  fast  as  his  legs  would  take 
him   and  in  a  few  minutes   he   reached  the  field 
where  the  little  white  house  had  stood.     But  the 
white  house  was  there  no  more.     There  was  instead 

104 


PINOCCHIO  105 


a  little  marble  slab  on  which  were  cut  the  follow- 
ing words  : 

Here  lies 

The  Fairy  with  the  Blue  Hair 

Dead  with  Grief 

For  having  been  abandoned  by  her 

Little  Brother  Pinocchio. 

As  he  could  not  read  he  did  not  know  what  to 
do.  The  Talking  Cricket  happened  to  be  near 
and  read  it  for  him.  I  leave  you  to  imagine  how 
the  marionette  felt  when  he  understood  the  mean- 
ing of  those  words.  He  fell  to  the  ground  and, 
covering  the  marble  slab  with  kisses,  cried  as  if  his 
heart  would  break.  He  cried  all  night  and  all  the 
next  morning,  until  he  had  no  more  tears  left.  His 
cries  and  sobs  were  so  loud  that  all  the  hills  round 
about  repeated  them. 

"Oh,  my  little  Fairy,  why  are  you  dead?"  he 
cried.  "  Why,  instead  of  you,  am  I  not  dead  ? 
Oh,  my  dear  little  Fairy,  tell  me  where  Lean  find 
my  papa.  I  wish  to  be  with  him  and  never  leave 
him  any  more.  Oh,  tell  me  that  it  is  not  true  that 
you  are  dead.  If  you  truly  love  me,  if  you  like 
your  little  brother,  come  back  !  return  to  life  ! 
Does  it  not  make  you  unhappy  to  see  me  left  all 
alone  by  everybody?  If  the  assassins  come  and 
hang  me  to  a  tree  again,  I  shall  die  this  time  for 


IOÓ  PINOCCHIO 


sure.  What  can  I  do  alone  in  this  world,  now 
that  I  have  lost  my  papa  and  you  ?  Who  will  give 
me  anything  to  eat  ?  Where  shall  I  sleep  at  night  ? 
Who  will  make  my  clothes  ?  Oh,  it  would  be 
better,  a  hundred  times  better,  that  I  should  die  ! 
Yes,  I  wish  to  die  !     Ih  !  ih  !  ih  !  " 

While  he  despaired  in  this  manner  he  wished  to 
pull  out  his  hair  ;  but  his  hair  being  of  wood  he 
was  not  able  to  raise  even  a  lock. 

A  large  Dove  who  was  flying  around,  seeing  the 
little  marionette  leaning  on  the  marble  slab,  stopped, 
and,  hovering  in  the  air,  said,  "  Tell  me,  my  little 
boy,  what  are  you  doing  down  there  ?  " 

"  Do  you  not  see  that  I  am  crying  ?  "  said  Pinoc- 
chio, raising  his  head  toward  the  voice  and  drying 
his  eyes  with  the  sleeve  of  his  jacket. 

"Tell  me,"  added  the  Dove,  "do  you  not  know 
among  your  companions  a  marionette  who  is  called 
Pinocchio  ?  " 

"  Pinocchio  ?  Did  you  say  Pinocchio  ?"  cried  the 
marionette,  jumping  to  his  feet;  "I  am  Pinocchio." 

When  the  Dove  heard  this  he  flew  down  to  the 
ground.     He  was  as  large  as  a  turkey  cock. 

"Do  you  also  know  Geppetto  ?  "  asked  the  Dove. 

"  Do  I  know  him  ?  He  is  my  poor  papa.  Has 
he  asked  you  about  me  ?  Can  you  take  me  to 
him  ?     Is  he  alive  ?     Tell  me,  is  he  alive  ?  " 


PINOCCHIO  107 


"  I  left  him  three  days  ago  on  the  seashore." 

"  What  was  he  doing  ?  " 

"  He  was  making  a  little  boat  in  order  to  cross 
the  ocean.  For  four  months  the  poor  man  has 
been  looking  for  you,  and  not  being  able  to  find 
you  he  began  to  build  a  boat  and  now  he  is  going 
to  look  for  you  in  another  country." 

"  How  far  is  it  to  the  shore  ?  "  asked  Pinocchio. 

"  A  thousand  miles." 

"  A  thousand  miles  !  Oh,  Dove  !  Oh,  if  only  I 
had  a  pair  of  wings  !  " 

"  If  you  wish  to  go,  I  will  carry  you." 

"How?" 

"  On  my  back.     Are  you  heavy  ?  " 

"  No,  indeed.     I  am  as  light  as  a  feather." 

And  then  without  saying  anything  further,  Pinoc- 
chio jumped  on  the  back  of  the  Dove  and  put  a 
leg  back  of  each  wing  just  like  a  man  on  horseback. 
He  then  cried  to  the  Dove,  "All  ready,  go  !  "  The 
Dove  spread  his  wings  and  in  a  few  moments  they 
almost  touched  the  clouds.  Arriving  at  that  ex- 
traordinary height,  the  marionette  had  the  curiosity 
to  turn  around  and  look  down.  He  was  so  scared 
when  he  took  a  view  of  the  country  below  that  he 
was  obliged  to  put  his  arms  around  the  Dove's  neck. 

They  flew  all  day  long.  Toward  evening  the 
Dove  said,  "  I  am  very  thirsty." 


io8 


PINOCCHIO  109 


"  I  am  very  hungry,"  added  Pinocchio. 

"  Let  us  stop  at  this  dove  house  a  few  minutes, 
and  afterward  we  will  start  on  our  way  again,  so 
as  to  be  at  the  shore  to-morrow  morning." 

They  entered  a  dove  house  which  they  found 
deserted  except  that  there  was  a  little  basin  of 
water  and  also  a  small  basket  of  chick  peas  placed 
near  the  door. 

In  all  his  life  the  marionette  had  never  been  able 
to  eat  chick  peas  ;  to  hear  the  name  always  made 
him  sick.  But  that  night  he  ate  them  ravenously, 
and  when  he  had  nearly  finished  he  turned  to  the 
Dove  and  said,  "I  would  never  have  believed  that 
chick  peas  could  taste  so  good." 

"  It  is  well  to  know,  my  boy,"  replied  the  Dove, 
"  that  when  you  are  truly  hungry  even  the  chick 
pea  seems  delicious.  Hunger  has  no  whims  or 
fancies." 

Having  eaten  their  lunch  quickly,  " they  started 
on  their  journey.  The  next  morning  they  arrived 
on  the  seashore. 

The  Dove  placed  Pinocchio  on  the  ground, 
and,  not  wishing  the  annoyance  of  hearing  him- 
self thanked  for  his  good  action,  flew  suddenly 
away  and  disappeared. 

The  shore  was  crowded  with  people  who  were 
crying  and  gesticulating,  looking  toward  the  sea. 


no 


PINOCCHIO 


"What  has  happened?"  asked  Pinocchio  of  an 
old  woman. 

"  There  is  an  old  man,  who,  having  lost  his  little 
boy,  ventured  to  go  to  sea  to-day  in  search  of  him, 
and  the  water  is  so  rough  that  we  are  afraid  he  will 
sink." 

"  Where  is  the  boat  ?  " 

"There  it  is;  follow  my  finger,"  said  the  old 
lady,  pointing  to  a  little  boat  that  from  where  they 
stood  looked  like  a  walnut  shell  with  a  very  small 
man  inside. 

"  It  is  my  papa  !     It  is  my  papa  !  '  ' 

Meanwhile  the  little  boat,  tossed  around  by  the 
waves,  now  disappeared  between  the  billows,  now 
floated  on  top.  Pinocchio,  standing  on  a  point  of 
a  high  reef,  called  his  papa  by  name  and  made 
many  signals  with  his  arms  and  finally  with  the 


PINOCCHIO  ni 


cap  on  his  head.  It  appeared  that  Geppetto, 
although  very  far  away  from  the  shore,  recognized 
him,  because  he  also  raised  his  cap  and  made  it 
clearly  understood  that  he  would  come  to  shore 
were  it  not  that  he  was  prevented  by  the  heavy 
seas. 

All  of  a  sudden  there  came  a  terrible  wave  and 
the  boat  disappeared.  They  waited  on  shore  to 
see  it  rise  but  it  was  never  seen  again. 

"  Poor  man  !  "  said  the  fishermen  ;  but  they  could 
not  help  him  so  they  turned  away. 

Then  they  heard  a  cry.  Looking  around,  they 
saw  a  little  boy  on  the  top  of  a  reef  throw  himself 
into  the  water. 

"  I  want  to  save  my  papa,"  he  said. 

Pinocchio,  being  made  of  wood,  floated  easily, 
and  he  could  swim  like  a  fish.  Now  he  was  seen 
to  disappear  under  the  water,  carried  by  the  cur- 
rent ;  now  he  appeared  again,  striking  out  against 
the  waves.  The  fishermen  watched  him  until  he 
was  so  far  from  shore  that  they  could  not  see  him 
any  longer. 

"  Poor  boy  !"  they  said  ;  and,  as  they  could  do 
nothing  for  him,  they  went  home. 


CHAPTER   XXIV 


Animated  by  the  hope  of  arriving  in  time  to 
save  his  father,  Pinocchio  swam  all  night.  And 
what  a  horrible  swim  that  was  !  It  rained,  hailed, 
thundered,  and  lightened  so  hard  that  the  night 
appeared  like  day. 

In  the  morning  he  saw  a  shore  line.  It  was  an 
island  in  the  middle  of  the  sea.  He  tried  to  reach 
that  sand  bank,  but  it  was  useless.  The  waves 
tossed  him  about  like  a  straw.  At  last,  by  good 
fortune,  there  came  a  tremendous  wave  that  hurled 


PINOCCHIO 


113 


him  right  upon  the  shore.  The  force  with  which 
he  struck  the  ground  was  so  great  that  it  nearly 
broke  his  bones  ;  but  he  said,  "  I  have  been  very 
lucky  to  escape  this  time." 

In  the  meantime  the  weather  cleared.  The  sun 
appeared  in  all  its  splendor  and  the  sea  became  as 
smooth  as  oil.  Then  the  marionette  laid  his  clothes 
out  on  the  sand  and  sat  in  the  sun  to  dry  himself. 
He  looked  all  around,  but  he  saw  nothing  of  the 
little  boat  that  contained  his  papa. 

"  I  should  like  to  know  the  name  of  this  island," 
he  said  to  himself.  "  I  should  like  to  know,  at 
least,  if  it  is  inhabited  by  kind  people  who  do  not 
hang  boys  to  trees  ;  but  whom  can  I  ask  if  there 
is  no  one  here  ?  " 

The  idea  of  finding  himself  alone  on  an  island  in 
the  sea  made  him  very  sad  and  he  began  to  cry. 
Suddenly  he  saw,  passing  by  not  very  far  from 
shore,  a  large  Fish,  who  went  about  his  business 
quietly  with  his  head  above  the  water.  The  mario- 
nette called  in  a  loud  voice,  so  as  to  make  himself 
heard,  "  Hello,  Mr.  Fish  !  Will  you  allow  me  one 
word  ?  " 

"Two,"  replied  the  Fish,  who  was  so  polite  a  dol- 
phin that  it  would  be  hard  to  find  his  equal  in  the  sea. 

"  Will  you  please  tell  me  if  in  this  island  I  car 
find  something  to  eat  without  being  eaten  ?  " 


114 


PINOCCHIO 


"  I  am  sure  of  it,"  replied  the  Dolphin.  "  You 
will  find  some  people  not  far  from  here." 

"  And  what  street  must  I  take  ?  " 

"Take  that  little  road  to  the  left  and  follow 
your  nose.     You  cannot  mistake  it." 

"Tell  me,  please,  another  thing.  You  travel 
so  much  in  the  sea,  both  by  day  and  by  night,  that 
perhaps  you  have  seen  a  little  boat  with  my 
papa  in  it." 

"  And  who  is  your  papa  ?  " 

"He  is  the  best  in  the  world,  and  I  am  the 
worst  son  that  can  possibly  be."     . 

"  With  the  terrible  storm  that  we  had  last  night 
the  boat  must  have  sunk." 

"Anal  my  papa  ?  " 

"  By  this  time  he  must  have  been  swallowed  by 
the  Dogfish  who  for  several  days  has  been  play- 
ing havoc  in  these  waters." 

"  Is  the  Dogfish  very  large  ?  "  asked  Pinocchio, 
who  already  trembled  with  fear. 

"  Large  ?"  replied  the  Dolphin.  "  Why,  you  can 
get  an  idea  of  him  when  I  tell  you  that  he  is  as 
large  as  a  five-story  house  and  his  mouth  is  so  big 
that  he  can  swallow,  at  one  gulp,  a  train  of  cars 
with  the  engine  attached  !  " 

"  Oh,  dear  me!"  cried  the  marionette,  very 
much   scared.      Turning  to  the   Dolphin,  he  said 


PINOCCHIO  115 


hurriedly,  "  Good-by,  Mr.  Fish  ;  excuse  me,  and 
a  thousand  thanks  for  your  kindness." 

Having  said  this,  Pinocchio  took  the  little  road 
and  ran  as  quickly  as  he  could.  At  every  slight 
noise  he  heard  he  looked  around,  for  fear  he  might 
be  followed  by  the  terrible  Dogfish  as  big  as  a  five- 
story  house,  and  with  a  mouth  large  enough  to 
swallow  a  train  of  cars  with  the  engine  attached. 

After  having  run  for  half  an  hour,  he  arrived  at 
a  little  country  called  "  The  Country  of  the  Busy 
Bees."  The  streets  were  filled  with  those  who 
ran  here  and  there  attending  to  their  little  duties, 
everybody  having  something  to  do. 

"  I  understand!"  exclaimed  that  good-for-nothing 
Pinocchio.  "  This  country  is  not  for  me.  I  was 
not  born  to  work." 

Meanwhile  he  was  very  hungry  because  he  had 
eaten*  nothing  for  twenty-four  hours,  —  not  even  a 
chick  pea.  What  could  he  do  ?  There  were  only 
two  ways  to  get  food,  —  either  to  beg  or  to  work  for 
it.  To  ask  for  alms  he  was  ashamed,  because  his 
papa  had  told  him  that  the  only  ones  who  had  a 
right  to  beg  were  the  truly  poor,  sick,  or  blind. 
The  poor  deserve  help  as  do  those  also  who  are  too 
old  to  work.  All  the  others  must  do  something, 
and  if  they  suffer  from  hunger  it  is  the  worse  for 
them. 


n6 


PINOCCHIO 


Just  then  there  passed  a  man,  all  perspiring,  who 
was  pulling  two  wagons  filled  with  coal.  Pinocchio, 
judging  from  his  face  that  he  was  a  good  man, 
lowered  his  eyes  for  shame,  and  said  in  an  under- 


tone, "  Will  you  please  give  me  a  penny  ?  I  am 
dying  of  hunger." 

"  Not  a  cent,"  replied  the  coal  man  ;  "but  I  will 
give  you  five  if  you  will  help  me  pull  this  wagon 
up  the  hill." 

"  I  am  surprised,"  replied  the  marionette,  almost 
offended.  "  I  was  not  made  a  mule  ;  I  have  never 
pulled  a  wagon  in  all  my  life." 


PINOCCHIO  117 


"The  worse  for  you!"  replied  the  coal  man. 
"Then,  my  boy,  if  you  are  dying  with  hunger,  eat 
a  couple  of  slices  of  your  pride  and  take  care  that 
it  does  not  give  you  indigestion." 

After  a  few  moments  a  bricklayer  passed  along, 
carrying  on  his  shoulder  a  basket  of  lime. 

"  Good  gentleman,  will  you  be  kind  enough  to 
give  a  penny  to  a  poor  boy  who  is  dying  with 
hunger  ? " 

"  Come  with  me,  and  I  will  give  you  five  if  you 
will  carry  a  basket  of  lime  for  me." 

"  But  the  lime  is  heavy,"  replied  Pinocchio,  "and 
I  do  not  want  to  get  tired." 

"  If  you  do  not  want  to  get  tired,  my  boy,  go 
hungry.     Good-by." 

In  less  than  half  an  hour  twenty  other  people 
walked  by  and  they  all  said  to  Pinocchio  :  "  Shame 
on  you  !  Instead  of  finding  a  little  work  and  earn- 
ing some  money,  you  stand  there  and  beg  like  a 
vagabond." 

Finally  along  came  a  good  woman  who  carried 
two  pitchers  of  water. 

"Will  you  be  so  good  as  to  give  me  a  sip  of 
water  ?  "  asked  Pinocchio,  who  was  burning  with 
thirst. 

"  Certainly,  my  boy,"  said  the  good  woman 
placing  the  two  pitchers  on  the  ground. 


Il8  PINOCCHIO 


When  Pinocchio  had  drunk  like  a  sponge  he 
muttered,  drying  his  mouth,  "  If  I  could  only  eat 
as  much  as  I  drank  !  " 

The  good  woman,  hearing  these  words,  replied 
quickly,  "  If  you  will  help  me  carry  one  of  these 
pitchers  of  water  up  the  hill,  I  will  give  you  a  nice 
piece  of  bread." 

Pinocchio  looked  at  the  pitchers  of  water  and  did 
not  say  Yes  or  No. 

"  And  with  the  piece  of  bread  I  will  give  you  a 
piece  of  cauliflower  dipped  in  oil  and  vinegar." 

Pinocchio  gave  another  glance  at  the  pitcher  and 
did  not  say  Yes  or  No. 

"  And  after  the  cauliflower  I  will  give  you  a  piece 
of  cake." 

At  this  Pinocchio  could  resist  no  longer.  He 
said,  '*  Pshaw  !  I  will  carry  the  pitcher  to  your 
home."  The  pitcher  was  very  heavy,  and  not  being 
able  to  carry  it  with  his  hands  he  put  it  on  his 
head.  After  they  arrived  at  the  house  the  good 
woman  prepared  the  table  and  gave  the  marionette 
all  that  she  had  promised.  Pinocchio  did  not  eat  ; 
he  gorged.  He  was  so  hungry  that  one  would 
think  he  had  not  eaten  for  a  week. 

At  length,  having  satisfied  his  hunger,  he  raised  his 
head  in  order  to  thank  his  benefactress.  Hardly  had 
he  looked  at  her  when  he  uttered  a  long  "Oh-h-h-h!" 


PINOCCHIO 


119 


of  surprise.  He  remained  seated  as  if  transfixed, 
with  his  eyes  opened  wide,  his  fork  in  the  air,  and 
his  mouth  full  of  bread  and  cauliflower. 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?  "  the  good  woman  asked, 
laughing. 

"  What  !  "  replied  Pinocchio,  stuttering.  "  What  ! 
—  how  you  resemble  —  yes  !  yes  !  yes  !  —  with  the 
blue  hair,  too,  just  like  her  !  Oh,  my  little  Fairy,  tell 
me  that  it  is  you  !  Do  not  let  me  cry  any  more  ! 
If  you  only  knew  how  much  I  have  cried  ! — how 
much  I  have  suffered  !  " 

And  saying  this,  Pinocchio  wept  a  flood  of  tears 
and,  throwing  himself  on  his  knees,  clung  to  the 
mysterious  woman. 


At  first  the  good  little  woman  pre- 
tended that  she  was  not  the  Fairy  with 
the  Blue  Hair  ;  but  afterward,  seeing  that  she  was 
discovered  and  not  wishing  to  prolong  the  comedy, 
she  made  herself  known  and  said  to  Pinocchio  : 
"  You  little  rascal  !  Why  did  you  ever  think  that 
it  was  I  ?  " 

"  Because  I  like  you  so  much.  That  is  what 
told  me." 

"  You  remember  me  ?  Yet  you  have  forgotten 
all  I  told  you.  And  now  I  am  old  enough  to  be 
your  mamma." 

"And  I  should  like  very  much  to  call  you  so. 
I  should  like  to  have  a  mamma  like  all  the  other 
boys.-    But  how  did  you  grow  up  so  quickly  ?  " 

"It  is  a  secret." 

X20 


PINOCCHIO  121 


"  Teach  me  how  to  do  it.  I  should  like  to  grow 
also.  Do  you  not  see  ?  I  am  always  the  same 
height." 

"  But  you  cannot  grow." 

"  Why  ?  " 

"Because  marionettes  never  grow.  They  are 
born  marionettes,  they  live  marionettes,  and  they 
die  marionettes." 

"Oh,  I  am  tired  of  being  always  a  marionette," 
cried  Pinocchio,  hitting  himself  on  the  head.  "  I 
want  to  become  a  man." 

"  And  you  will  become  one  if  you  deserve  to." 

"  Truly  ?     And  what  can  I  do  to  deserve  it  ?  " 

"  That  is  easy.  Accustom  yourself  to  be  a  good 
boy." 

"  Oh,  that  is  what  I  am  now  !  " 

"  Not  at  all.  Boys  that  are  good  are  obedient, 
and  you  instead  —  " 

"And  I  never  obey." 

"  Good  boys  like  to  study  and  work,  and  you —  " 

"  I  like  to  play  and  run  around." 

"  Good  boys  always  tell  the  truth  —  " 

"And  I  always  tell  lies." 

"Good  boys  go  to  school  willingly  —  " 

"And  to  me  school  is  a  horrible  thing.  But 
from  to-day  I  will  change  my  life  " 

"  You  promise  me  ?  " 


122  PINOCCHIO 


"  I  promise  you.  I  want  to  become  a  good  little 
boy  and  a  comfort  to  my  papa.  Where  is  he  at 
this  time  ?  " 

"  I  do  not  know." 

"  Shall  I  ever  have  the  good  fortune  to  see  him 
again  ?  " 

"  I  believe  so.     Indeed,  I  am  sure  of  it." 

At  this  reply  Pinocchio  was  so  happy  that  he  was 
nearly  crazy  with  joy.  Then,  raising  his  face  and 
looking  at  the  Fairy  lovingly,  he  said  to  her,  "  Tell 
me,  Mamma  ;  is  it  true  you  are  not  dead  ?  " 

"  It  appears  not,"  replied  the  Fairy. 

"  If  you  only  knew  with  what  grief  I  heard  you 
were  buried  under  that  stone  —  " 

"  I  do  know  it  ;  and  that  is  why  I  forgive  you. 
The  sincerity  of  your  grief  proves  that  you  have  a 
good  heart.  There  is  always  hope  for  boys  with 
good  hearts.  Even  if  they  sometimes  act  like 
scamps,  there  is  always  hope  that  they  will  finally 
get  on  the  right  road.  That  is  why  I  have  come 
here.     I  will  be  your  mamma." 

"  Oh,  how  nice  !  "  said  Pinocchio,  jumping  with 
joy. 

"Will  you  obey  me  and  always  do  what  I  tell  you?" 

"  Willingly,  willingly,  willingly  !  " 

"Then  to-morrow,"  said  the  Fairy,  "you  will 
begin  by  going  to  school." 


PINOCCHIO  123 


Pinocchio  became  suddenly  a  little  less  lively. 

"After  that  you  can  choose  a  trade  or  some 
business." 

Pinocchio  became  serious. 

"  What  are  you  mumbling  through  your  teeth  ?  " 
asked  the  Fairy. 

"I  said  that  now  it  is  a  little  late  to  go  to 
school." 

"  No,  sir.  Remember  that  it  is  never  too  late  to 
learn." 

"  But  I  do  not  wish  to  learn  a  trade." 

"  Why  ?  " 

"  Because  to  work  makes  me  tired." 

"  My  boy,  those  who  say  that  always  end  either 
in  prison  or  in  the  almshouse.  Every  man,  whether 
rich  or  poor,  ought  to  work  at  something.  Woe 
to  the  one  that  leaves  himself  to  idleness  !  Idleness 
is  a  very  bad  disease  and  should  be  cured  quickly 
or  else  when  you  are  old  you  will  never  get  over  it." 

These  words  touched  the  soul  of  Pinocchio. 
Quickly  raising  his  head,  he  said  to  the  Fairy  :  "  I 
will  study,  I  will  work,  I  will  do  all  you  wish, 
because  the  life  of  a  marionette  is  tiresome  and  I 
want  to  become  a  boy  through  and  through.  You 
have  promised  me  that,  have  n't  you  ?  " 

"I  promise  you;  and  now  it  depends  upon  ho.v 
you  behave." 


CHAPTER   XXVI 


The  next  day  Pinocchio  went  to  the  public  school. 
Just  imagine  how  the  little  scholars  behaved  when 
they  saw  a  marionette  in  their  school!  They 
laughed  out  loud.  Several  played  jokes  on  him. 
One  took  off  his  cap  ;  another  pulled  his  coat  tails  ; 
another  tried  to  make  a  mustache  under  his  nose 
with  ink  ;  and  another  tied  strings  to  his  arms  and 
legs  in  order  to  make  him  dance. 

For  a  little  while  Pinocchio  did  not  pay  much 
attention  to  them,  but  finally,  losing  patience,  he 
said  :  "  Take  care  !  I  have  not  come  here  to  be 
your  buffoon.  I  respect  others  and  I  wish  to  be 
respected." 

124 


PINOCCHIO  125 


"  Hurrah  for  the  jester  !  He  speaks  like  a 
book,"  shouted  the  little  scamps,  bursting  forth  into 
laughter.  One  of  them,  more  impertinent  than 
the  others,  stretched  out  his  arm  and  tried  to  seize 
Pinocchio  by  the  nose.  But  he  did  not  have  time 
because  Pinocchio  thrust  his  leg  suddenly  under 
the  desk. 

"  Oh,  what  hard  feet  he  has  !  "  cried  the  boy, 
rubbing  the  lumps  that  the  marionette  had  made. 

"  And  what  hard  elbows  !  "  said  another,  who  for 
another  trick  had  received  a  punch  in  the  ribs. 
The  fact  is,  that  after  several  kicks  and  elbowings 
Pinocchio  had  the  good  will  of  all  the  boys  in  the 
school  and  they  began  to  like  him  very  much. 

The  school-teacher,,  too,  praised  him  because  he 
was  so  attentive,  studious,  and  intelligent,  —  always 
the  first  to  enter  the  school,  always  the  last  to  get 
up  when  it  was  over.  The  only  mistake  he  made 
was  that  of  going  with  too  many  companions, 
among  whom  were  a  few  who  did  not  care  to  study. 
The  teacher  warned  him  daily,  and  the  good  Fairy, 
too,  added  her  words  of  advice,  saying,  "  Take  care, 
Pinocchio!  your  companions  will  sooner  or  later 
make  you  lose  your  love  for  study  and  perhaps 
will  bring  misfortune  upon  you." 

"  There  is  no  danger  of  that,"  replied  the  mario- 
nette,  shrugging  bis  shoulders  and  touching  his 


126  PINOCCHIO 


forehead  with  his  first  finger  as  if  he  said,  "  There 
is  much  wisdom  inside." 

Now  it  happened,  one  beautiful  day  as  he  was 
going  to  school,  that  he  met  some  of  his  companions 
who  said  to  him,  "  Have  you  heard  the  news  ?  " 

"No." 

"Not  far  from  here  a  big  dogfish  as  large  as  a 
mountain  has  floated  on  the  beach." 

"  Truly  ?  Why,  it  may  be  the  same  one  that 
swallowed  my  papa." 

"  We  are  going  to  look  at  it.  Will  you  come 
along?  " 

"  No.     I  want  to  go  to  school." 

"  Oh,  pshaw  !  What  do  you  care  for  school  ? 
We  can  go  there  to-morrow.  One  lesson  more  or 
less  does  not  matter  at  all." 

"And  what  will  the  teacher  say  ?  " 

"  Oh,  he  will  have  something  more  to  talk  about 
to-morrow." 

"  And  my  mamma  ?  " 

"  Your  mamma  will  never  know,"  said  the 
wicked  boys. 

"  Do  you  know  what  I  will  do  ?  "  said  Pinocchio. 
"  I  want  to  see  the  dogfish  very  much,  so  I  will  go 
after  school." 

"  Poor  stupid  thing  !  "  they  said.  "  Do  you  think 
that  a  dogfish  of  that  size  will  wait  for  your  slow 


PINOCCHIO 


127 


actions  ?  Why,  he  will  go  away,  and  then  you 
will  be  sorry  you  did  not  go." 

"  How  much  time  will  it  take  to  go  there  ?  " 
asked  the  marionette. 

"  In  an  hour  we  shall  be  back." 

"  Well,  then,  I  will  go.  Come  on  !  The  first  one 
there  is  the  best,"  cried  Pinocchio. 

With  that  signal  to  start  they  all  began  to  run. 
Pinocchio  was  always  the  first  in  a  race  ;  he  ran  as 
if  he  had  wings  on  his  feet.  From  time  to  time  he 
turned  to  look  at  his  companions,  who  were  some 
distance  behind.  Seeing  them  puffing  and  blowing 
and  covered  with  dust,  he  laughed  out  loud.  The 
poor  boy  did  not  know  what  misfortune  was  m 
store  for  him. 


CHAPTER   XXVII 


Arriving  at  the  shore,  Pinocchio  quickly  looked 
up  and  down  the  coast,  but  there  was  no  dogfish. 
The  sea  was  as  still  and  as  shiny  as  a  looking-glass. 

"  Where  is  the  dogfish  ?  "  he  asked,  turning  to 
his  companions. 

"  It  has  gone  to  breakfast,"  replied  one  of  them, 
laughing. 

"  It  may  be  that,  being  tired,  he  has  gone  to  take 
a  little  nap,"  said  another,  laughing  still  louder. 

From  these  replies  Pinocchio  understood  that 
the  boys  had  played  a  trick  on  him,  making  him 
believe  a  thing  that  was  not  true.  He  turned  to 
them  and  said  angrily,  "And  now,  why  did  you  tell 
me  this  nonsense  about  the  dogfish  ?  " 

"  Because  we  wanted  to,"  they  replied  in  a  chorus. 

"  But  why  ?  " 

"  Because  we  wanted  you  to  lose  a  day  at  school. 
Aren't  you  ashamed  to  go  to  school  every  day  so 
128 


PINOCCHIO  129 


steadily  ?  And  then  you  are  too  studious.  Why 
do  you  do  it  ?  " 

"  If  I  study,  what  business  is  that  of  yours  ?  " 

"Why,  it  means  a  great  deal  to  us  because  it 
makes  us  look  like  bad  boys  before  the  teacher." 

«  Why  ?  " 

"Because  the  scholars  who  study  are  always 
compared  with  those  who  do  not  ;  and  we  do  not 
like  it.     That  is  all." 

"  And  what  should  I  do  in  order  to  make  you 
satisfied  with  me  ?  " 

"  You  ought  to  hate  school.  Both  the  lessons 
and  the  teacher  are  boys'  greatest  enemies." 

"  And  if  I  wish  to  study,  what  will  you  do  ?  " 

"  We  will  watch  for  you,  and  at  the  first  oppor- 
tunity we  will  pay  you  up." 

"  You  make  me  laugh,"  said  the  marionette, 
shaking  his  head. 

"Take  care,  Pinocchio!"  said  the  largest  boy,  go- 
ing up  to  him  and  shaking  his  fist  under  his  nose. 
"  Do  not  make  fun  of  us.  Do  not  be  so  proud  here 
because  you  have  no  fear  of  us.  We  have  no  fear  of 
you.     Remember  you  are  alone.    We  are  seven." 

"  Now,  Pinocchio,  I  will  teach  you  a  lesson  !  " 
cried  another  boy.  And  saying  that,  he  struck 
Pinocchio  on  the  head  with  his  fist.  But  it  was  an 
exchange  of  blows,  for  the  lively  marionette  ducked 


I30  PINOCCHIO 


his  head  and  replied  suddenly  with  another  blow, 
and  then  the  fight  became  general.  Pinocchio, 
although  he  was  alone,  was  able  to  defend  himself. 
His  hard  wooden  feet  worked  so  well  that  they  kept 
all  the  boys  at  a  reasonable  distance.  Where  the 
feet  struck  they  always  left  a  black  and  blue  spot. 

Then  the  boys,  provoked  at  not  being  able  to 
get  near  the  marionette,  looked  around  for  stones  ; 
but  there  was  nothing  but  sand.  They  finally  took 
their  spelling  books,  geographies,  histories,  and 
arithmetics  and  began  hurling  them  at  him.  But 
the  marionette  was  very  quick  and  dodged  every 
one,  so  that  the  books  went  over  him  and  fell  into 
the  sea. 

What  do  you  think  the  fishes  did  ?  Thinking 
that  the  books  might  be  something  to  eat,  they 
swam  to  the  edge  of  the  sea  and  looked  at  the 
pictures  ;  but  after  swallowing  several  pages  and 
frontispieces,  they  spat  them  out  and  made  wry 
faces,  as  if  to  say  :  "  This  is  no  food  for  us.  We 
are  accustomed  to  eat  much  better  stuff." 

Meanwhile  the  combat  grew  fiercer  until  a  big 
old  Crab  came  out  of  the  water  and,  slowly  walk- 
ing up  the  beach,  cried  with  the  voice  of  a  trom- 
bone that  has  caught  a  cold,  "  Stop  it  !  stop  it  S 
These  battles  between  boys  always  end  badly. 
Some  misfortune  is  sure  to  happen." 


131 


132  PINOCCHIO 


Poor  Crab  !  It  was  as  if  he  had  spoken  to  the 
wind.  That  naughty  Pinocchio,  turning  around, 
said  to  him  very  rudely  :  "  Oh,  hush,  ugly  Crab  ! 
You  would  do  better  to  eat  some  seaweed  and 
cure  that  cold  of  yours.  Go  home  to  bed  and  take 
a  good  nap." 

In  the  meantime  the  boys,  who  had  used  up  all 
their  own  books,  looked  around  and  spied  Pinoc- 
chio' s,  which  they  seized  in  less  time  than  it  takes 
to  tell  it.  Among  his  books  there  was  a  volume 
bound  in  thick  cardboard.  It  was  a  treatise  on 
arithmetic.  I  will  leave  you  to  imagine  how  heavy 
it  must  have  been.  One  of  the  boys  seized  the 
arithmetic  and,  taking  aim,  threw  it  at  Pinocchio. 
Instead  of  hitting  the  marionette  it  struck  the 
head  of  one  of  his  companions.  The  boy  became 
as  white  as  a  sheet  and  fell  to  the  ground,  where 
he  lay  motionless.  » 

At  the  sight  of  the  little  fellow  apparently  dying 
the  boys  were  frightened  and  ran  away  as  fast  as 
they  could.  In  a  few  minutes  there  was  no  one 
left  but  Pinocchio. 

Although  he  was  more  dead  than  alive  through 
grief  and  fright,  he  ran  to  soak  his  handkerchief  in 
the  sea  and  began  to  bathe  the  temples  of  his  poor 
schoolmate.  Meanwhile  he  cried  despairingly  : 
"  Eugene  !     My  poor  Eugene,  open  your  eyes  and 


PINOCCHIO  133 


look  at  me  !  Why  do  you  not  answer  me  ?  It  was 
not  I  who  hurt  you.  Believe  me,  it  was  not  I.  If 
you  keep  your  eyes  shut,  you  will  make  me  die 
too.  How  shall  I  be  able  to  go  home  now  ?  What 
can  I  say  to  my  good  mamma  ?  What  will  she  say 
to  me  ?  Where  shall  I  go  ?  Where  can  I  hide 
myself  ?  Oh,  how  much  better,  a  thousand  times 
better,  would  it  have  been  if  I  had  gone  to  school  ! 
Why  did  I  listen  to  them  this  morning?  And  to 
think  that  the  teacher  and  also  my  mamma  warned 
me,  '  Beware  of  bad  companions  !  '  But  I  am  head- 
strong. I  am  a  bad,  obstinate  boy.  I  let  them  tell 
me  what  to  do  and  then  I  do  what  I  please.  Why 
was  I  ever  made  ?  I  have  never  had  a  quiet  day 
in  my  life.  Oh,  dear  !  What  will  become  of  me  ? 
What  will  become  of  me  ?  " 

And  Pinocchio  continued  to  cry  and  weep  and 
punch-  his  head  and  call  poor  Eugene  by  name. 
Suddenly  he  heard  the  sound  of  footsteps.  He 
turned  and  there  were  two  policemen.  "What 
are  you  doing  there  ?  "  they  asked. 

"  I  am  helping  my  schoolmate." 

"  Is  he  hurt  ?  " 

"  It  appears  so." 

"Worse  than  that,"  said  one  of  them,  bending 
down  and  looking  at  Eugene  closely  ;  "  the  boy 
is  wounded  in  the  temple.     Who  did  it?" 


134  PINOCCHIO 


"  It  was  not  .1,"  said  the  marionette,  who  had 
hardly  any  breath  left  in  his  body. 

"  If  you  did  not  do  it,  who  was  it  then  ?  " 

"  Not  I,"  repeated  Pinocchio. 

"  With  what  was  he  struck  ?  " 

"With  this  book."  And  the  marionette  took 
from  the  ground  the  treatise  on  arithmetic,  bound 
in  thick  cardboard,  and  handed  it  to  the  policeman. 

"Whose  book  is  this  ?  " 

"  It  is  mine." 

"  That  is  enough.  You  must  have  done  it. 
Stand  up  and  come  with  us  immediately." 

"But  I  —  " 

"  Come  with  us." 

"But  I  am  innocent." 

"  Come  with  us." 

Before  going  away  the  policemen  called  some 
fishermen  who  at  that  moment  were  passing  by  in 
a  rowboat  near  the  shore,  and  said  to  them  :  "  We 
trust  this  wounded  boy  to  you.  Take  him  to  your 
house  and  help  him.  To-morrow  we  will  come  back 
and  see  how  he  is." 

Then  they  turned  to  Pinocchio  and,  placing  him 
between  them,  said  :  "  Forward  !  Walk  quickly  ! 
If  you  do  not,  so  much  the  worse  for  you." 

Without  saying  anything  the  marionette  began 
to  walk  along  the  road  that  led  to  his  home.     But 


PINOCCHIO 


35 


the  poor  little  boy  did  not  know  whether  he  was  in 

this  world  or  not.     It  appeared  to  him  that  he  was 

dreaming,  and  what  a  horrible  dream  it  was  !     He 

was    nearly    crazy.     His    eyes    saw    double.     His 

legs  trembled.      His 

tongue  stuck  to  the  roof 

of  his  mouth  and  he  could 

not  say  a  word.      And 

yet.  in  the  midst  of  that 

species  of  stupidity  he 

felt  a  thorn  in  his  heart 

at  the  thought  of  passing 

under  the  window  of  the 

good  Fairy.      He  would 

have  preferred  to  die. 

They  had  already 
reached  the  city  and 
were  just  on  the  point  of 
entering  when  a  gust  of 
wind  blew  off  Pinocchio's 
hat  and  carried  it  along  the  road  back  of  them. 

"Will  you  allow  me  to  get  my  hat?"  asked 
Pinocchio. 

"  Yes,  but  do  it  quickly." 

The  marionette  ran  after  it,  but  he  did  not  put 
it  on  his  head.  He  placed  it  between  his  teeth 
and  then  began  to  run  toward  the  sea.  He  flew 
like  a  musket  ball. 


136  PINOCCHIO 


The  policemen,  judging  that  they  could  not 
catch  him,  loosened  a  bloodhound  that  had  gained 
the  first  premiums  at  all  the  dog  shows.  Pinocchio 
ran  and  the  dog  ran  after  him.  All  the  people, 
hearing  the  noise,  ran  to  the  front  doors  and  win- 
dows and  wondered  who  would  win  the  race.  But 
the  dog  and  Pinocchio  made  such  a  dust  as  they 
ran  that  they  were  soon  hidden  and  were  seen 
no  more. 


CHAPTER   XXVIII 


During  that  desperate  run  there  was  a  terrible 
moment  in  which  Pinocchio  believed  himself  lost, 
for  Aladdin,  the  dog,  ran  so  very  fast  that  he 
nearly  caught  him.  The  marionette  felt  behind 
him  the  warm  breath  of  the  ugly  beast  as  he 
panted  heavily.  By  good  luck  the  beach  was  near 
and  he  saw  the  sea  not  far  away. 

As  soon  as  he  reached  the  water's  edge  the 
marionette  gave  a  good  spring,  just  like  a  frog,  and 
fell  into  the  water.  Aladdin  wished  to  stop  but, 
carried  by  the  impetus  of  his  speed,  he  also  entered 
the  water.  The  unfortunate  Dog  did  not  know  how 
to  swim,  so  he  began  to  gesticulate  with  his  paws 
in  order  to  right  himself;  but  the  more  he  gesticu- 
lated the  more  his  head  went  under  water.  When 
he  finally  succeeded  in  getting  his  head  out  of  water 
his  eyes  were  full  of  tears,  and,  barking,  he  said, 
"  I  smother  !  I  drown  !  " 

137 


138  PINOCCHIO 


"  Die  !  "  replied  Pinocchio,  who,  seeing  himself 
far  away,  felt  that  he  was  out  of  danger. 

"  Help  me,  Pinocchio  !     Save  me  from  death  !  " 

At  that  pitiful  cry  the  marionette,  who  had 
really  a  good  heart,  was  moved  with  compassion 
and,  turning  to  the  Dog,  said  to  him,  "But  if  I 
save  you,  will  you  promise  that  you  will  not  run 
after  me  ?  " 

"Yes,  I  promise  you.  Come  quickly,  for  in  a 
few  minutes  I  shall  be  dead." 

Pinocchio  hesitated  a  little.  Then  remembering 
that  his  papa  had  told  him  that  a  good  action  is 
never  forgotten,  he  swam  toward  Aladdin  and,  tak- 
ing him  by  the  tail,  pulled  him  out  and  landed  him 
safe  and  sound  on  the  sand. 

The  poor  Dog  could  not  stand  on  his  feet.  He 
had  unintentionally  swallowed  so  much  salt  water 
that  he  was  swollen  like  a  balloon...  Not  wishing  to 
trust  the  Dog  too  much,  the  marionette  thought  it 
prudent  to  throw  himself  again  into  the  sea. 
Swimming  away,  he  cried  :  "  Good-by,  Aladdin  ! 
Remember  me  to  all  your  friends." 

" Good-by,  Pinocchio!"  barked  the  Dog.  "A 
thousand  thanks  for  having  saved  my  life.  You 
have  done  me  a  great  service  and  I  shall  never 
forget  you.  I  hope  I  shall  be  able  to  repay  you 
some  day." 


PINOCCHIO  139 


Pinocchio  continued  to  swim,  keeping  always 
near  the  shore.  Finally  he  thought  he  had  arrived 
at  a  good  safe  place  to  land.  Looking  up  and 
down,  he  saw  on  the  reefs  a  sort  of  grotto  out  of 
which  came  a  long  thread  of  smoke. 

"  In  that  grotto,"  he  said  to  himself,  "  there  must 
be  some  fire.  So  much  the  better  ;  I  will  go  and  dry 
myself.     Then  whatever  will  happen  will  happen." 

Having  taken  this  resolution  he  approached  the 
reef  ;  but  when  he  was  about  to  land  he  felt  some- 
thing in  the  water  that  drew  him  along.  He  tried 
to  escape  but  it  was  too  late.  He  found  himself 
in  a  great  fish  net  full  of  fishes  of  every  kind. 
And  then  he  saw  coming  out  of  the  grotto  a 
fisherman  so  ugly  that  he  appeared  to  be  a  sea 
monster.  Instead  of  hair  he  had  bunches  of  sea- 
weed on  his  head.  His  skin  also  was  green  ;  so 
were  his  eyes  and  his  long  beard.  He  looked  like 
a  great  big  lizard  with  arms  and  legs. 

When  the  fisherman  had  pulled  out  the  net  he 
gave  a  great  cry  of  satisfaction  :  '"  Thank  goodness  ! 
To-day  I  shall  have  a  nice  big  meal." 

"  It  is  a  good  thing  I  am  not  a  fish,"  said  Pinoc- 
chio to  himself,  becoming  more  hopeful. 

The  net  of  fishes  was  carried  into  the  grotto,  which 
was  dark  and  smoky.  In  the  center  was  a  fire,  and 
over  it  a  frying  pan  full  of  oil  was  spitting. 


140 


PINOCCHIO 


"  Now  let  us  see  what  kind  of  fish  I  have 
caught  to-day,"  said  the  green  fisherman.  Putting 
his  hand  inside  he  drew  out  a  number  of  mullets. 

"These  are  beautiful  mullets,"  he  said,  looking 
at  them  with  pleasure.  And  after  examining  them 
he  threw  them  into  a  washtub. 

He  repeated  this  operation  many  times,  filling 
many  tubs  with  other  fish,  his  mouth  watering  all 
the  time  so  that  he  could  hardly  wait  until  the  fish 
were  cooked. 

"  What  good  whitefish  !  " 

"  What  exquisite  bass  !  " 

"  What  delicious  soles  !  " 

"  What  choice  crabs  !  " 

"  What  glorious  anchovy  !  " 

The  last  that  remained  in  the  net  was  Pinocchio. 
As  the  fisherman  drew  him. out  he  looked  scared 
and  exclaimed:  "What  species  of  fish  is  this? 
I  do  not  remember  ever  having 
seen  one  like  it  before." 
He  looked  him  all  over 


PINOCCHIO  141 


again  and  then  said  :  "  I  understand.  He  belongs 
to  the  crawfish  family." 

Pinocchio,  mortified  at  being  called  a  crawfish, 
indignantly  cried  out  :  "  I  am  not  a  crawfish  ! 
Look  at  me  ;  I  am  a  marionette." 

"  A  marionette  !  "  replied  the  fisherman.  "  Well, 
well  !  A  marionette  fish  is  a  new  kind  to  me.  All 
che  better  ;  I  shall  eat  you  with  more  relish." 

"  Eat  me  ?  But  you  do  not  understand  !  I  am 
not  a  fish.  Don't  you  see  that  I  reason  and  talk 
as  you  do  ?  " 

"It  is  true,"  replied  the  fisherman.  "As  I  see 
that  you  live  in  the  water  and  must  be  a  fish, 
and  as  you  know  how  to  reason  and  talk,  I  will 
respect  your  wisdom  and  will  therefore  let  you 
decide." 

"  What  do  you  mean  ?  " 

"  Why,  on  account  of  my  esteem  and  friendship 
for  one  who  knows  how  to  reason  and  talk,  I  will 
let  you  choose  the  way  in  which  you  are  to  be 
cooked.  Should  you  like  to  be  boiled,  or  fried 
in  a  pan  with  tomato  sauce  ?  " 

"To  tell  you  the  truth,"  replied  Pinocchio,  "if 
I  must  choose,  I  should  prefer  to  be  set  free  and 
to  go  home." 

"You  are  joking.  Do  you  think  I  would  lose 
the  chance  of  eating  so  rare  a  fish  ?     What  I  will 


142  PINOCCHIO 


do  is  to  fry  you  with  all  the  others.  Being  fried 
with  companions  is  always  a  consolation." 

At  this  allusion  the  unhappy  Pinocchio  began  to 
weep.  He  exclaimed  :  "  How  much  better  would  it 
have  been  if  I  had  gone  to  school  !  I  listened  to 
the  bad  advice  of  my  school  friends  and  now  I  am 
paying  for  it.     Ih  !  ih  !  ih  !  " 

Because  Pinocchio  twisted  and  turned  like  an 
eel  the  fisherman  took  a  piece  of  cord  and  bound 
him  tightly  and  threw  him  in  with  the  others. 
Then  he  pulled  out  a  box  of  flour  and,  having 
buttered  the  fish  all  over,  began  to  dip  them  into 
it  so  as  to  make  them  taste  nice.  The  first  to 
be  put  into  the  pan  were  the  mullets,  then  the 
soles,  then  the  bass,  and  finally  it  came  Pinocchio' s 
turn.  The  marionette,  seeing  himself  so  close  to 
death  —  and  such  a  mean  death  !  —  trembled  all 
over  with  fright  and  had  no  breath  left  to  say 
anything. 

The  poor  boy  looked  sadly  at  the  fisherman  ;  but 
the  green  man,  without  paying  any  attention, 
buttered  and  floured  him  all  over  from  head  to  foot, 
so  that  he  looked  like  a  marionette  of  chalk. 

Then  he  took  him  by  the  neck  and , 


r 


CHAPTER   XXIX 


Just  as  the  fisherman  was  on  the  point  of  putting 
Pinocchio  into  the  frying  pan  a  big  Dog  entered 
the  grotto,  having  been  attracted  by  the  savory 
odor  of  the  fried  fish.  "Go  away!"  cried  the 
fisherman,  waving  in  his  hand  the  marionette  all 
covered  with  flour.  But  the  poor  Dog  had  a  hun- 
ger that  demanded  to  be  appeased.  So,  whining 
and  wagging  his  tail,  he  appeared  to  say,  "  Give  me 
a  mouthful  of  fish  and  I  will  leave." 

143 


144  PINOCCHIO 


"  Go  away  !  "  repeated  the  fisherman,  raising  his 
foot  to  kick  him.  Then  the  Dog,  who  was  truly 
hungry,  showed  his  terrible  teeth. 

At  that  instant  there  was  heard  in  the  grotto  a 
small  voice  crying,  "  Save  me,  Aladdin  !  If  you  do 
not,  I  shall  be  fried." 

The  Dog  recognized  the  voice  of  Pinocchio  and 
was  surprised  to  find  that  it  came  from  the  white 
bundle  that  the  fisherman  held  in  his  hand.  Then 
what  did  he  do  ?  He  jumped  up  high,  caught  that 
white  bundle  and,  holding  it  lightly  between  his 
teeth,  ran  out  of  the  grotto  like  a  shot. 

The  fisherman  was  greatly  enraged  and  tried  to 
catch  him,  but  it  was  wasted  time  and  he  had  to 
content  himself  with  the  fish  that  were  left. 

In  the  meantime  Aladdin,  finding  the  road  that 
led  back  to  the  town,  stopped  and  carefully  placed 
Pinocchio  on  the  ground. 

"  How  can  I  thank  you  ?  "  said  the  marionette. 

"  It  is  not  necessary,"  said  the  Dog.  "  You  have 
saved  me  and  now  I  save  you.  In  this  world  all 
ought  to  help  one  another." 

"  But  how  did  you  find  the  grotto  ?  " 

"  After  you  left  me  I  was  lying  on  the  shore  when 
the  wind  carried  to  me  the  odor  of  fried  fish.  That 
odor  gave  me  an  appetite  and  I  went  to  the  place 
from  which  it  came.    If  I  had  been  a  minute  later — '  ' 


PINOCCHIO  145 


"  Don't  speak  about  it  !  "  cried  Pinocchio,  trem- 
bling with  fear.  "  Don't  speak  about  it  !  If  you 
had  arrived  a  minute  later,  I  should  have  been  fried, 
eaten,  and  digested.  Brrr  !  It  makes  me  shake 
only  to  think  of  it  !  " 

Aladdin,  laughing,  held  out  his  paw,  which  Pinoc- 
chio took.  After  shaking  hands  like  two  good 
friends,  they  separated.  The  Dog  went  home  and 
Pinocchio  went  to  a  little  town  not  far  away.  There 
he  asked  an  old  man  who  was  sitting  in  the  doorway 
basking  in  the  sun,  "  Tell  me,  do  you  know  anything 
about  a  little  boy  who  was  wounded  and  who  is 
called  Eugene?" 

"  The  boy  has  been  carried  into  this  town  by 
some  fishermen  and  he  is  now  —  " 

"  Not  dead  ?  "  interrupted  Pinocchio  in  great  grief. 

"  No  ;  he  is  alive  and  has  gone  home." 

"Truly?  truly?"  cried  the  marionette,  jumping 
up  and  down  with  great  joy.  "  Then  the  wound 
was  not  serious  ?  " 

"No  ;  but  it  might  have  been,  for  he  was  struck 
by  a  large  book." 

"  And  who  threw  it  ?  " 

"  One  of  his  companions  ;  a  certain  Pinocchio." 

u  Who  is  this  Pinocchio  ?  '  ' 

"  They  say  that  he  is  a  bad  boy,  a  vagabond  and 
a  true  scoundrel." 


146  PINOCCHIO 


"  That  is  not  true." 

"Do  you  know  him  then  ?  " 

"By  sight,"  replied  the  marionette. 

"  What  do  you  think  of  him  ?  " 

"  He  appears  to  me  to  be  a  good  boy,  a  boy  that 
wants  to  go  to  school,  to  study,  and  to  obey  his 
parents." 

When  the  marionette  had  told  that  story  he 
touched  his  nose  and  found  that  it  had  grown 
much  larger.  Frightened  by  this,  he  cried  :  "  Do 
not  believe,  good  man,  all  that  I  have  said  !  I 
know  this  Pinocchio  very  well  and  I  assure  you 
that  he  is  a  bad  boy,  a  vagabond  and  a  scoundrel  ; 
and  instead  of  going  to  school  he  goes  with  bad 
companions."  He  had  hardly  said  these  words 
when  his  nose  returned  to  its  natural  size. 

"And  why  are  you  covered  with  white?"  said 
the  old  man. 

"I  will  tell  you,  if  you  choose,  but  it  is  a  long 
story,"  replied  the  marionette,  who  was  ashamed 
to  tell  the  reason. 

"Well,  my  boy,  you  cannot  go  about  like  that. 
I  have  only  a  little  sack  that  will  fit  you,  but  I  will 
give  you  that  with  pleasure." 

Without  being  urged  further  Pinocchio  took  the 
little  sack  and,  cutting  a  hole  in  the  bottom  and 
two  holes  on  the  side  with  a  pair  of  scissors,  put 


PINOCCHIO  147 


it  over  his  head  like  a  shirt.  Clothed  thus  lightly 
he  took  the  road  to  his  home  and  said  to  him- 
self as  he  walked  along  :  "How  shall  I  present 
myself  to  my  good  Fairy  ?  What  will  she  say 
when  she  sees  me  ?  Will  she  pardon  me  the  sec- 
ond time  ?  Oh,  no  ;  she  will  not  pardon  me,  I  am 
sure,  because  I  have  been  a  scamp  and  have  not 
kept  my  promise." 

When  he  arrived  at  the  town  it  was  quite  dark  ; 
and  because  it  rained  very  hard,  he  went  directly 
to  the  house  of  the  Fairy  and  decided  to  knock  at 
the  door.  But  when  he  reached  the  house  his 
courage  failed,  so  instead  of  knocking  he  walked 
beyond.  He  returned  a  second  time  to  the  door, 
but  did  not  knock  ;  then  he  approached  it  another 
time,  but  did  nothing.  The  fourth  time  he  trem- 
bled as  he  took  hold  of  the  knocker,  and  let  it  fall 
without  much  noise. 

He  waited  and  waited.  In  about  half  an  hour  a 
window  opened  on  the  top  floor  (for  there  were  four 
stories  to  the  house)  and  Pinocchio  saw  a  large  Snail 
look  out.  The  Snail  called,  "Who  is  it  at  this 
hour  ?  " 

"Is  the  Fairy  at  home  ?  "  asked  the  marionette. 

"  The  Fairy  is  sleeping  and  does  not  wish  to  be 
awakened  ;  but  who  are  you  ?  " 

"Itisi." 


148 


PINOCCHIO 


"Who  is  I?" 
"  Pinocchio." 
"  Who  is  Pinocchio  ?  " 

"The  marionette  who  lives  here  with  the  Fairy.'1 
"  Ah,  I  understand,"  said  the  Snail.    "  Wait  there 
and  I  will  come  down  immediately." 

"Hurry,  please,  for  I  am  dying  of  cold." 


PINOCCHIO  149 


"  My  boy,  I  am  a  snail  ;  and  snails  never  hurry." 

In  the  meantime  an  hour  passed  by,  then  two  ; 
and  the  door  was  not  opened.  Pinocchio,  trem- 
bling with  the  cold,  knocked  again.  At  the  second 
knock  the  window  on  the  third  story  opened  and 
the  Snail  looked  out. 

"Beautiful  Snail,"  cried  Pinocchio  from  the 
street,  "  I  have  waited  two  hours  ;  and  two  hours 
in  this  weather  seem  like  two  years.  Please 
hurry,  won't  you  ?  " 

"My  boy,"  replied  the  Snail,  "I  am  a  snail; 
and  snails  never  hurry." 

Some  time  afterward  it  struck  midnight  ;  then 
one  ;  then  two  ;  but  the  door  remained  '  always 
closed.  Then  Pinocchio,  losing  patience,  took  hold 
of  the  knocker  and  was  about  to  strike  with  all  his 
might  when  the  knocker  became  an  eel  and, 
slipping  through  his  hands,  dropped  into  a  stream 
of  water  that  ran  in  the  street. 

"Ho!  ho!"  cried  Pinocchio,  more  enraged  than 
ever.  "  If  the  knocker  disappears  I  will  use  my 
foot."  He  then  kicked  the  door  so  hard  that  his 
foot  went  through  the  wood  and  stuck  there.  He 
tried  to  pull  it  out  but  he  could  not.  Just  imagine 
how  he  felt  !  He  was  obliged  to  wait  with  one 
foot  on  the  ground  and  the  other  in  the  door  until 
morning  came. 


I50  PINOCCHIO 


In  the  morning  the  door  was  opened.  The  good 
Snail  had  taken  nine  hours  in  descending  the  stairs, 
and,  as  might  have  been  expected,  was  covered 
with  perspiration. 

"  What  are  you  doing  with  your  foot  in  the  door?  " 
he  asked,  laughing. 

"  I  have  been  unfortunate.  Just  look,  kind  Snail, 
and  help  me." 

"  My  boy,  you  need  a  carpenter,  and  I  have  never 
learned  that  trade." 

"Ask  the  Fairy  to  help  me." 

"The  Fairy  is  asleep  and  does  not  wish  to  be 
awakened." 

"  But  what  can  I  do  all  day  with  my  foot  fastened 
to  the  door  ?  " 

"  You  can  amuse  yourself  by  counting  the  ants 
that  pass  by." 

"  Bring  me  something  to  eat,  won't  you  ?  I  am 
very  hungry." 

"  Immediately,"  said  the  Snail. 

After  three  hours  Pinocchio  saw  him  coming  with 
a  silver  vase  on  his  head.  The  vase  contained  some 
bread,  a  piece  of  chicken,  and  four  ripe  apricots. 

"  Here  is  your  breakfast  sent  to  you  by  the 
Fairy." 

At  the  sight  of  such  food  Pinocchio  felt  consoled. 
But  he  was  deceived  ;  for  when  he  took  the  bread 


PINOCCHIO  151 


he  found  that  it  was  chalk,  that  the  chicken  was 
made  of  cardboard,  and  that  the  four  apricots  were 
of  glass. 

He  wanted  to  cry,  he  wanted  to  scream,  he 
wanted  to  throw  the  silver  vase  into  the  house  ; 
but  he  was  so  weak  that  he  fell  down  and  fainted. 
When  he  came  to  he  found  himself  on  a  sofa  and 
the  Fairy  was  near  him. 

"  I  will  pardon  you  this  time  ;  but  woe  to  you  if 
you  ever  do  it  again  ! M  said  the  Fairy. 

Pinocchio  promised  that  in  future  he  would  be 
good.  He  kept  his  promise  the  rest  of  the  year. 
In  fact,  at  the  examinations  he  took  the  first  honors, 
and  the  Fairy  was  so  happy  thai:  she  said  to  him, 
"  To-morrow  you  shall  have  your  wish." 

"And  that  is?" 

"To-morrow  you  shall  stop  being  a  marionette 
and  become  a  real  boy." 

One  who  never  saw  Pinocchio  cannot  imagine 
how  happy  he  was  at  this  announcement.  All  his 
friends  and  schoolmates  were  invited  to  a  great  col- 
lation. The  Fairy  had  prepared  two  hundred  cups 
and  saucers  and  four  hundred  little  sandwiches 
buttered  inside  and  out.  That  day  promised  to  be 
a  great  event  but  — 

Unfortunately  in  the  life  of  a  marionette  there  is 
always  a  but  that  spoils  everything. 


CHAPTER    XXX 


Pinocchio  suddenly  asked  the  Fairy's  permission 
to  go  and  invite  his  friends.  The  Fairy  said  :  "Go 
and  invite  them,  but  remember  to  come  back 
before  night.     Do  you  understand  ?  " 

"  I  promise  to  be  back  in  an  hour,"  he  replied. 

"  Take  care,  Pinocchio  !  Boys  make  promises 
easily,  but  sometimes  they  do  not  keep  them." 

"I  am  not  like  other  boys.  And  I  shall  cer- 
tainly keep  this  promise." 

"We  shall  see.  In  case  you  disobey  it  will  be 
the  worse  for  you." 

"  Why  ?  " 

"  Because  boys  who  do  not  pay  attention  to  the 
advice  of  their  parents  always  meet  with  mis- 
fortune." 

152 


PINOCCHIO  253 


"I  have  had  experience,"  said  Pinocchio;  "now 
you  will  see  that  I  obey." 

"  We  shall  see  if  you  speak  the  truth." 

In  a  little  more  than  an  hour  all  his  friends 
were  invited.  Some  accepted  at  once  ;  others 
hesitated  until  they  heard  of  the  good  things  to 
eat.     Then  they  said,  "We  will  surely  come." 

Now  you  must  know  that  among  his  companions 
there  was  one  that  he  liked  best  of  all.  His  name 
was  Romeo  ;  but  he  was  nicknamed  Lamp  Wick, 
because  he  was  as  dry  as  a  new  lamp  wick  that 
people  use  to  light  their  houses. 

Lamp  Wick  was  the  most  careless  and  mis- 
chievous boy  in  all  the  school,  but  Pinocchio  liked 
him  very  much.  He  went  to  look  for  him  so  as  to 
give  him  an  invitation  to  the  party  next  day  ;  but  he 
sought  in  vain.  Where  could  he  be  ?  He  looked 
here  and  there  and  finally  found  him  under  a  shed 
of  a  country  house. 

"  What  are  you  doing  here  ?  "  asked  Pinocchio. 

"  I  am  waiting  until  it  is  midnight,  so  that  I  can 
go  away." 

"  Where  are  you  going  ?  " 

"  Far  away,  far  away,  far  away." 

"  I  have  looked  for  you  everywhere." 

"  What  do  you  want  with  me  ?  " 

*'  Have  you  not  heard  ?  " 


154  PINOCCHIO 


"  What  is  it  ?  " 

"  To-morrow  I  shall  no  longer  be  a  marionette  ; 
I  shall  become  a  boy  like  all  the  rest." 

"  Good  luck  to  you  !  " 

"  But  I  want  you  to  be  there." 

"  I  have  told  you  that  I  am  going  away  to-night." 

"At  what  time?" 

"Shortly." 

"  Where  do  you  go  ?  " 

"  I  am  going  to  live  in  a  new  country  that  is 
the  most  beautiful  place  in  all  the  world.  It  is  a 
true  land  of  plenty." 

"What  do  they  call  it?" 

"  They  call  it  'The  Country  of  Playthings.'  Why 
won't  you  come  ?  " 

"I?     No,  indeed." 

"  You  are  wrong,  Pinocchio.  Believe  me,  if  you 
do  not  go  away,  you  will  be  sorry.  Where  can 
you  find  a  better  place  for  boys  ?  There  are  no 
schools;  there  are  no  teachers;  there  are  no  books. 
In  that  pleasant  country  they  never  study.  On 
Saturdays  you  do  not  go  to  school  here,  and  there 
every  day  is  a  Saturday  except  one,  which  is  Sun- 
day. Just  think,  the  vacation  begins  the  first  day 
of  January  and  ends  the  last  day  of  December  ! 
That  is  the  country  for  me.  That  is  what  I  think 
all  countries  should  be  like." 


PINOCCHIO  155 


"  But  how  do  you  pass  the  days  in  the  Country 
of  Playthings  ?  " 

"Why,  you  play  from  morning  till  night.  At 
night  you  go  to  bed,  and  the  next  morning  it  is 
the  same  thing  all  over  again.  How  should  you 
like  it  ?  " 

"  Uhm  S  "  said  Pinocchio,  and  he  shook  his  head 
lightly  as  if  to  say,  "  It  is  a  country  that  would 
please  me  very  much." 

"Then  will  you  go  with  me  ?     Yes  or  no." 

"  No,  no,  no  !  I  have  promised  my  kind  Fairy 
to  become  a  good  boy  and  I  wish  to  keep  my 
word.  The  sun  is  going  down  and  I  must  hurry. 
Good-by  and  a  pleasant  journey." 

"  Don't  go  away  so  soon.     Why  do  you  hurry  ?  " 

"  Because  I  told  the  good  Fairy  that  I  would  be 
at  home  before  dark." 

"Wait  two  minutes." 

"No;  it  will  be  too  late." 

"  Only  two  minutes." 

"The  Fairy  will  scold  me." 

"  Let  her  scold.  When  she  has  scolded  enough 
she  will  stop,"  said  the  little  scoundrel  Lamp  Wick. 

"And  what  are  you  going  to  do  ?  Do  you  go 
alone  or  with  company  ?  " 

"Alone  ?     Why,  there  will  be  a  hundred  boys." 

"  Do  you  go  on  foot  ?  " 


156  PINOCCHIO 


"  Oh,  no  !  A  little  carriage  will  come  soon  and 
take  me."  ,    ' 

"  How  much  I  would  give  to  see  the  carriage 
pass  by  now  !  '  ' 

"Why?" 

"  I  should  like  to  see  you  all  start." 

"  If  you  will  stay  here  a  little  while  you  will  see 
them." 

"  No,  no  !     I  wish  to  go  home." 

"  Oh,  wait  another  two  minutes." 

"  No  ;  I  have  waited  too  long  now.  The  Fairy 
will  worry  about  me." 

"  Poor  Fairy  !  Does  she  think  that  you  will  be 
eaten  by  bats  ?  " 

"  But  tell  me,"  urged  Pinocchio,  "you  are  sure 
that  in  that  country  there  is  no  school  ?  " 

"Not  even  the  shadow  of  one." 

"And  no  teachers  ?  " 

"Not  one." 

"And  you  are  never  obliged  to  study  ?  " 

"  Never,  never,  never  !  " 

"What  a  beautiful  country!"  said  Pinocchio, 
his  mouth  beginning  to  water.  "  I  have  nevei 
been  there,  but  I  can  imagine  all  about  it." 

"  Why  don't  you  come  along  ?  " 

"  It  is  useless  to  tempt  me.  I  have  promised  to 
be  a  good  boy  and  I  wish  to  keep  my  word." 


PINOCCHIO  157 


"  Well,  then,  good-by  ;  remember  me  to  all  the 
scholars." 

"  Good-by,  Lamp  Wick.  I  wish  you  a  good  trip 
and  I  hope  you  will  meet  some  nice  new  friends." 

Having  said  this,  the  marionette  took  two  steps 
toward  home  ;  then  he  stopped  and  asked,  "  But 
are  you  sure  that  there  are  six  Saturdays  in  the 
week  and  only  one  Sunday  ?  " 

"  I  am  positive." 

"  And  can  you  say  for  certain  that  the  vacation 
begins  on  the  first  of  January  and  ends  the  last 
day  of  December?" 

"  I  am  positive." 

"What  a  beautiful  country!"  said  Pinocchio. 
Presently  he  made  another  start  and  said,  "Then 
good-by  truly  this  time,  and  I  wish  you  a  safe 
journey." 

"Good-by." 

"  How  soon  do  you  start  ?  " 

"Shortly  now." 

"  Too  bad  !     I  think  I  will  wait  and  see  you  go." 

"And  the  Fairy?" 

"  It  is  late  now,  and  an  hour  later  will  not  make 
much  difference." 

"  Poor  Pinocchio  !  and  if  the  Fairy  should  scold  ?  " 

"Well,  let  her  scold.  When  she  has  scolded 
enough  she  will  stop." 


i58 


PINOCCHIO 


In  the  meantime  it  became  quite  dark.  Sud- 
denly as  they  talked  they  saw  moving  along  the 
road  a  little  light  and  heard  the  tooting  of  little 
trumpets  so  small  and  fine  that  they  sounded  like 
the  buzzing  of  a  mosquito. 


"  Here  they  are  !  "  said  Lamp  Wick,  standing  up. 

"  Who  is  it  ?  "  asked  Pinocchio,  in  a  low  voice. 

"  It  is  the  carriage  that  is  coming  for  me.  Now 
will  you  go  ?     Yes  or  no." 

"But  are  you  sure,"  asked  the  marionette,  "that 
in  that  country  the  boys  are  not  obliged  to  study?  " 

"  Never,  never,  never  !  " 

"  What  a  beautiful  country  it  must  be  !  " 


CHAPTER  XXXI 

Finally  the  carriage  arrived  without  making  the 
least  noise,  because  the  wheels  were  bound  with 
tow  and  rags.  Twelve  little  donkeys  pulled  it  ; 
they  were  of  the  same  size  but  of  different  colors. 
Some  were  brown,  others  speckled  like  pepper  and 
salt,  and  others  were  striped  with  bands  of  yellow 
and  blue.  But  the  most  singular  thing  about  them 
was  this  :  these  twelve  pair  of  donkeys,  that  is, 
the  twenty-four  donkeys,  instead  of  having  shoes 
made  of  iron,  had  on  their  feet  white  kid  boots 
shaped  like  a  man's.. 

And  the  driver?  Just  imagine  a  man  very  fat  and 
round,  like  a  big  ball  of  butter,  with  an  oily  smile, 

*59 


IÓO  PINOCCHIO 


a  face  like  an  apple,  and  a  thin,  caressing  voice 
like  that  of  a  cat  trying  to  win  the  affection  of 
its  mistress  ! 

As  soon  as  they  saw  him  the  boys  were  tempted 
to  jump  into  the  carriage  and  start  away  for  the 
place  unknown  on  the  geographical  maps,  —  the 
Country  of  Playthings. 

The  carriage  was  filled  with  boys  between  eight 
and  ten  years  of  age,  packed  like  sardines  in  a 
box.  They  were  so  closely  huddled  together  that 
they  could  hardly  breathe.  But  no  one  said  "Oh!" 
No  one  complained.  The  consolation  of  knowing 
that  in  a  few  hours  they  would  arrive  in  a  country 
where  there  were  no  books,  or  schools,  or  teachers 
made  them  happy  and  resigned,  so  that  they  did  not 
feel  hurt,  or  uncomfortable,  or  hungry,  or  thirsty. 

As  soon  as  the  carriage  stopped,  the  fat  driver 
turned  to  Lamp  Wick  and  with  a  thousand  airs  and 
grimaces  said  to  him,  smiling,  "  Tell  me,  my  pretty 
lad,  do  you  wish  to  come  with  us  to  the  most  for- 
tunate country  ?" 

"Indeed  I  do." 

*'  But  I  warn  you  that  there  is  no  place  inside. 
As  you  see,  it  is  full." 

"Oh,  well,"  replied  Lamp  Wick,  "if  there  is  no 
place  inside,  I  will  sit  on  top  of  the  carriage,"  and 
he  jumped  up  and  sat  beside  the  driver. 


PINOCCHIO  l6l 


"And  what  about  your  friend?"  said  the  driver, 
turning  most  politely  toward  Pinocchio.  "What 
will  he  do  ?     Are  you  coming  with  us  also  ?  " 

"  I  remain  here,"  replied  Pinocchio.  "  I  wish  to 
return  home.  I  prefer  to  study  and  to  be  a  good 
boy." 

"  What  good  will  that  do  you  ?  " 

"Listen  to  me,  Pinocchio,"  said  Lamp  Wick: 
"come  with  us  and  always  be  happy." 

"  No,  no,  no  !  " 

"  Come  with  us  and  always  be  happy,"  said  four 
others. 

"  Come  with  us  and  always  be  happy,"  said  all 
the  rest. 

"  And  if  I  go  with  you,  what  will  the  good  Fairy 
say  ?  "  asked  Pinocchio,  who  began  to  feel  as  if  he- 
were  being  pulled  by  his  sleeve. 

"  Do  not  think  of  that.  Think  of  the  country 
we  shall  be  in.  We  shall  be  our  own  masters  and 
make  a  fine  noise  all  day  long." 

Pinocchio  did  not  reply,  but  gave  a  sigh  ;  then  he 
gave  another  sigh  ;  then  a  third  sigh  ;  finally  he 
said  :  "Give  me  a  place.     I  will  go  with  you." 

"All  the  places  are  full,"  replied  the  driver  ; 
"but  if  you  wish,  take  my  place." 

"  What  will  you  do  ?  " 

"  I  will  walk." 


IÓ2  PINOCCHIO 


"  No  ;  I  cannot  allow  that.  I  prefer  to  ride  on 
one  of  the  donkeys,"  said  Pinocchio. 

No  sooner  said  than  done.  He  approached  the 
nearest  donkey  and  tried  to  mount  it  ;  but  the 
donkey  suddenly  raised  his  hind  feet  and  threw 
Pinocchio  off.  Just  imagine  the  impertinent 
laughter  of  all  those  boys  who  saw  it  ! 

Pinocchio,  who  was  very  angry,  made  another 
jump  on  the  donkey's  back.  The  jump  was  such 
a  beautiful  one  that  the  boys  began  to  laugh  and 
shout,  "Long  live  Pinocchio!"  and  clap  their  hands 
for  joy. 

When  they  were  ready  to  start  the  donkey  again 
raised  his  hind  feet  and  gave  such  a  strong  kick 
that  the  marionette  was  thrown  on  top  of  a  heap 
of  gravel.  The  boys  again  laughed  out  loud  ;  but 
the  driver,  instead  of  laughing,  went  to  the  donkey 
and  seemed  to  whisper  something  in  his  left  ear. 
Then  he  said  to  the  marionette  :  "  Remount  and 
have  no  fear.  That  donkey  had  a  whim  in  his 
head,  but  I  have  spoken  to  him  and  he  will  be 
more  reasonable." 

Pinocchio  mounted  and  the  carriage  started. 
While  the  donkeys  galloped  along  the  marionette 
fancied  that  he  heard  a  strange  voice  saying  : 
"  Poor  simpleton  !  You  wish  to  do  as  you  please. 
You  will  be  sorry." 


1 63 


IÓ4  PINOCCHIO 


The  frightened  Pinocchio  looked  first  on  one 
side  of  the  road  and  then  on  the  other  to  see 
whence  these  words  came  ;  but  he  saw  no  one. 
The  donkeys  galloped,  the  carriage  rolled  along, 
the  boys  inside  slept,  Lamp  Wick  snored  like  a 
dormouse,  and  the  driver  sang  between  his  teeth  : 

All  the  night  they  sleep, 
And  I  never  .  .   . 

They  made  another  mile.  Again  Pinocchio  heard 
the  voice.  This  time  it  said  :  "  Bear  in  mind,  simple- 
ton, that  boys  who  stop  studying  and  throw  away 
their  books  and  do  nothing  but  play  and  amuse 
themselves  will  always  come  to  a  bad  end.  I  know 
it,  for  I  have  tried  it,  but  I  cannot  say  any  more. 
You  will  cry  some  day  as  I  do  now,  but  then  it  will 
be  too  late." 

At  these  whispered  words  the  marionette  was 
more  frightened  than  ever.  He  jumped  down  to 
the  ground  and  put  his  ear  to  the  donkey's  nose. 
Imagine  how  surprised  he  was  when  he  perceived 
that  the  donkey  wept  just  like  a  little  boy  !  "Mr. 
Driver,"  cried  Pinocchio,  "do  you  know  that  this 
donkey  can  cry  ?  " 

"  Let  him  cry.  He  will  laugh  when  he  has  some 
hay." 

"  But  who  taught  him  to  speak  ?  " 


PINOCCHIO  165 


"He  learned  to  say  a  few  words  in  a  country 
where  he  lived  for  a  little  while." 

"Poor  beast!" 

"  Do  not  waste  your  time  pitying  a  donkey  when 
he  cries.  Jump  on  his  back  and  let  us  go.  The 
night  is  fresh  and  the  road  is  long." 

Pinocchio  obeyed  in  silence.  The  carriage  moved 
on,  and  when  the  sun  came  up  they  arrived  at  the 
Country  of  Playthings. 

This  country  did  not  resemble  any  other  in  the 
world.  The  population  was  composed  entirely  of 
boys.  The  oldest  was  thirteen  years  and  trie 
youngest  not  under  eight.  In  the  streets  there  was 
a  noise,  a  running  around,  and  a  blowing  of  trum- 
pets that  would  make  your  head  ache.  Everywhere 
groups  of  boys  played  at  marbles,  at  shinny,  at  ball  ; 
some  rode  on  velocipedes  and  wooden  horses  ;  some 
played  hide  and  seek  ;  others  played  tag  ;  some  sang; 
others  jumped  over  benches  ;  some  walked  on  their 
hands  with  their  feet  in  the  air  ;  others  tried  to  kick 
over  their  heads  ;  some  laughed  ;  some  called  ;  some 
whistled  ;  some  made  a  noise  like  a  hen  that  has 
just  laid  an  egg.  In  fact,  there  was  such  a  pande- 
monium that  you  would  have  had  to  put  cotton  in 
your  ears. 

As  soon  as  Pinocchio,  Lamp  Wick,  and  all  the 
other  newcomers  in  this  country  had  arrived,  they 


l66  PINOCCHIO 


ran  around  with  the  others  and  began  to  play.  Who 
could  have  been  happier  or  more  contented  than 
they  ?  "  Oh,  what  a  beautiful  life  this  is  !  "  said 
Pinocchio,  running  after  Lamp  Wick. 

"  See  ;  was  I  not  right  ?  "  said  the  latter.  "  You 
did  not  wish  to  come.  To  think  that  you  should 
want  to  return  to  the  Fairy's  house  and  study!  If 
to-day  you  are  free  from  all  the  annoyances  of 
school  and  its  troubles,  you  should  thank  me.  True 
friends  are  the  only  ones  who  know  how  to  ren- 
der favors  to  one  another." 

"  It  is  true,  Lamp  Wick.  If  to-day  I  am  a  free 
and  happy  boy,  I  owe  it  all  to  you.  Yet  the  teacher 
used  to  say  to  me,  *  Do  not  go  with  Lamp  Wick 
because  he  is  a  bad  companion.'  " 

"Poor  Teacher!"  replied  the  other,  shaking  his 
head. 

So  they  played  in  the  country  for  five  months. 
They  never  saw  a  book  ;  never  studied  a  minute. 
They  played  from  morning  till  night.  One  morning 
when  Pinocchio  awoke  he  was  surprised  to  find  what 
had  happened,  and  it  made  him  very  unhappy. 


CHAPTER   XXXII 

What  was  the  surprise  ?  I  will  tell  you,  my  dear 
little  reader.  The  surprise  was  that  when  Pinoc- 
chio awoke  one  morning  and  happened  to  scratch 
his  head,  he  perceived  —  just  imagine  what  he  per- 
ceived !  You  know  that  when  the  marionette  was 
born  he  had  very  little  ears,  so  little  that  you  could 
scarcely  see  them.  Fancy,  then,  how  surprised  he 
was,  when  he  put  his  hand  to  his  head,  to  find  that 
his  ears  had  grown  long  !  He  went  quickly  in 
search  of  a  mirror,  but  not  finding  any  he  emptied 
some  water  into  a  basin.  Then,  looking  at  his 
reflection,  he  saw  something  that  he  certainly  did 
not  expect  to  see,  —  two  beautiful,  long,  donkey 
ears. 

167 


168  PINOCCHIO 


I  will  leave  you  to  imagine  the  grief,  the 
shame,  the  desperation  of  Pinocchio.  He  cried 
and  screamed  and  beat  his  head  against  the  wall  ; 
but  his  ears  grew  and  grew  and  grew  until  hair 
began  to  show  on  the  tops. 

At  the  sound  of  his  heartrending  cries  a  Dor- 
mouse, who  lived  on  the  first  floor,'  entered  the  room. 
Seeing  the  marionette  in  great  anguish,  he  asked 
eagerly,  "  What  is  the  matter,  my  dear  little  lodger  ?  " 

"  I  am  sick,  Dormouse  ;  very  sick,  and  with  a  sick- 
ness that  alarms  me.  Dp  you  understand  the  pulse  ?  '  ' 

"A  little." 

"  See,  then,  if  I  have  a  fever." 

The  Dormouse  took  Pinocchio' s  wrist  in  his  paw 
and,  after  having  tested  his  pulse,  said,  "My  friend, 
it  grieves  me  to  tell  you  bad  news." 

"What  is  it?" 

"  You  have  a  bad  fever." 

"What  kind?" 

"The  donkey  fever." 

"  I  do  not  understand  that  disease,"  replied 
Pinocchio,  who  really  understood  very  well. 

"  I  will  explain  it  to  you.  Know,  then,  that  in 
two  or  three  hours  you  will  be  a  donkey,  a  real 
donkey,  like  those  that  pulled  the  carriage  which 
brought  you  here." 

"  Oh,  what  shall  I  do  ?  what  shall  I  do  ?  "  cried 


PINOCCHIO  169 


Pinocchio,  pulling  his  ears  so  hard  that  it  must 
have  hurt  him. 

"My  dear,"  said  the  Dormouse,  "what  are  you 
trying  to  do  ?  You  must  know  that  it  is  a  written 
decree  that  those  boys  who  do  not  wish  to  study, 
who  hate  books  and  teachers,  and  who  spend  the 
whole  day  enjoying  themselves,  end  by  becoming 
little  donkeys." 

"  Is  that  really  true  ?  "  asked  the  marionette. 

"  Of  course  it  is.  And  now  it  is  of  no  use  to 
cry.     You  should  always  think  first." 

"But  the  fault  is  not  mine.  The  fault,  believe 
me,  is  all  Lamp  Wick's." 

"  Who  is  Lamp  Wick  ?  " 

"A  friend  of  mine.  I  wished  to  go  back  to 
.school  and  be  an  honor  to  the  good  Fairy  ;  but 


170  PINOCCHIO 


Lamp  Wick  said  to  me,  '  In  the  Country  of  Play- 
things no  one  studies,  and  we  can  play  from  morn- 
ing till  night.'  " 

"Why  did  you  follow  the  advice  of  a  bad 
friend  ?  " 

"  Why  ?  Because,  Dormouse,  I  am  a  foolish, 
heartless  marionette.  Oh,  if  I  had  had  a  little  bit  of 
heart,  I  should  never  have  left  my  good  Fairy,  who 
loved  me  like  a  mamma  and  did  much  for  me.  And 
by  this  time  I  should  have  been  a  little  boy  like  all 
the  rest  instead  of  a  marionette.  Oh,  if  I  had  not 
met  Lamp  Wick  !  " 

And  he  walked  toward  the  door.  But  when  he 
had  gone  outside  he  remembered  his  donkey  ears  ; 
and,  being  ashamed  of  himself,  what  do  you  think 
he  invented  ?  He  made  a  dunce  cap  and,  putting 
it  on  his  head,  pulled  it  down  over  his  ears.  Then 
he  went  out  and  looked  for  Lamp  Wick.  He  looked 
in  the  streets,  in  the  square,  in  the  theater,  in  fact, 
everywhere  ;  but  he  could  not  find  him.  He  asked 
if  any  one  had  seen  him,  but  no  one  knew  where  he 
was.  He  then  went  to  his  house  and  knocked  at 
the  door. 

"  Who  is  there  ?  "  asked  Lamp  Wick  from  the 
inside. 

"  It  is  I,"  replied  Pinocchio. 

"  Wait  a  little  and  I  will  open  the  door." 


PINOCCHIO 


17 


After  half  an  hour  the  door  opened  and  Pinocchio 
saw  his  friend,  also  in  a  dunce  cap  which  covered 
his  ears. 

At  the  sight  of  that  cap  Pinocchio  felt  somewhat 
consoled,  and  he  thought  to  himself,  "  He  has  the 
same  trouble  and  also  suffers  from  donkey  fever." 


Feigning  not  to  see  anything,  he  asked  gayly, 
"How  are  you,  my  dear  Lamp  Wick  ?  " 

"  Like  a  rat  in  a  cake  of  cheese." 

"  Are  you  telling  me  the  truth  ?  " 

"  Why  should  I  tell  a  story  ?  " 

"  Excuse  me  ;  but  why  do  you  wear  that  cap 
then  ?  " 

"A  doctor  ordered  it  because  my  knees  hurt. 
And  you,  Pinocchio,  why  do  you  wear  one  ?  " 


172  PINOCCHIO 


"The  doctor  ordered  it  because  I  had  corns  on 
my  feet." 

"  Oh,  poor  Pinocchio  !  " 

"  Oh,  poor  Lamp  Wick  !  " 

After  these  words  there  was  a  long  silence  dur- 
ing which  time  the  two  friends  looked  at  each  other. 
Finally  the  marionette  said  in  a  kind  voice,  "  Raise 
your  cap  just  a  little,  will  you  ?  " 

"  Never  !     And  you  ?  " 

"  Never  !  You  see  I  have  an  ear  that  is  very 
painful." 

"  So  have  I." 

"  You,  too  ?     And  which  ear  hurts  ?  " 

"Both.     And  you?" 

"  Both.     Can  it  be  the  same  malady  ?  " 

"  I  fear  so." 

"  Do  you  wish  to  please  me,  Lamp  Wick  ?  " 

"With  all  my  heart." 

"  Let  me  see  your  ears." 

"Oh,  no!     First  let  me  see  yours." 

"No  ;  you  ought  to  do  it  first." 

"  No  ;  after  you  always." 

"Then,"  said  the  marionette,  "let  us  make  a 
contract." 

"All  right." 

"  Let  us  take  off  our  caps  together." 

"All  right." 


PINOCCHIO  173 


"Look  out  then."  And  Pinocchio  began  to 
count  :    "  One,  two,   three  !  " 

At  the  word  "three,"  the  boys  took  off  their 
caps  and  threw  them  into  the  air.  And  then  they 
laughed  and  laughed  and  laughed  until  they  were 
compelled  to  hold  their  sides.  Suddenly  Lamp 
Wick  stopped  and,  ,  changing  color,  said  to  his 
friend,  "  Help  !  oh,  help  me,  Pinocchio  !" 

"  What  is  the  matter  ?  " 

"  Oh,  dear  me  !     I  cannot  stand  up  any  longer." 

"I  cannot,  either,"  cried  Pinocchio. 

Even  while  they  were  speaking  they  fell  on  their 
hands  and  began  to  run  around  the  room  on  all 
fours.  And  while  they  ran  their  arms  became 
legs,  their  faces  changed,  and  their  bodies  were 
covered  with  long  hair.  But  the  moment  that  was 
most  horrible  for  each  unfortunate  was  when  he 
felt  a  tail  swishing  behind  him.  Overcome  by 
shame  and  grief,  they  tried  to  talk.  But  they  could 
not  do  it.  Instead  of  sobs  and  lamentations  there 
came  the  bray  of  a  donkey  and  it  sounded  like 
"  Y-a,  y-a." 

In  the  meantime  there  was  a  knock  on  the  door 
and  they  heard  a  voice  outside  saying  :  "  Open  the 
door  !  I  am  the  driver  of  the  carriage  that  brought 
you  here.     Open  quickly,  or  woe  be  unto  you 


CHAPTER   XXXIII 


Seeing  that  the  ci  )or  did  not  open,  the  driver 
gave  it  a  violent  kick  It  fell  and  he  entered  the 
room  saying  in  his  usual  oily  way,  "  Good  boys  ! 
You  bray  very  well.  I  recognize  your  voices  and 
here  I  am  to  take  you  away." 

At  these  words  the  two  little  donkeys  became 
quiet.  They  lowered  their  heads  and  ears  and  put 
their  tails  between  their  legs. 

At  first  the  driver  patted  them  and  smoothed  their 
hair.  After  that  he  pulled  out  some  leather  straps 
and  bridled  them  both.  When  he  had  curried 
them  so  that  they  looked  like  two  looking-glasses, 

T74 


PINOCCHIO  175 


he  took  them  to  the  square  in  the  hope  of  selling 
them  and  making  a  good  trade. 

The  purchasers  soon  made  their  appearance. 
Lamp  Wick  was  bought  by  a  farmer  whose  donkey 
had  died  the  day  before  from  overwork.  Pinocchio 
was  bought  by  the  director  of  a  company  of  clowns 
and  circus  men,  so  that  he  could  be  taught  to  do 
tricks  and  capers. 

And  now,  my  little  readers,  do  you  understand 
what  the  trade  of  the  driver  was  ?  That  monster, 
who  had  a  face  of  milk  and  honey,  went  from  time 
to  time  through  the  world  with  a  carriage  and  col- 
lected, by  promises,  all  the  naughty  boys  that  were 
tired  of  books  and  school.  After  he  had  filled 
his  carriage  he  took  them  to  the  Country  of  Play- 
things, where  they  passed  all  the  time  in  playing 
and  having  fun.  When  these  poor  deluded  boys 
had  played  for  a  certain  time  they  turned  into 
donkeys,  which  he  led  away  and  sold  in  the  town. 
By  this  means  he  had  become  very  rich,  —  in  fact 
a  millionaire. 

What  happened  finally  to  Lamp  Wick  I  do  not 
know.  I  know,  however,  that  Pinocchio  led  a 
very  hard  and  weary  life.  When  he  was  taken 
to  a  stall  his  new  master  emptied  some  straw 
into  the  manger  ;  but  Pinocchio,  after  he  had 
eaten  a  mouthful,  spat  it  out.     Then  the  master, 


i;6  PINOCCHIO 


scolding,  gave  him  some  hay  ;   but  that  did  not 
please  him. 

"  Ah  !  You  do  not  like  hay  ?  "  cried  the  master, 
in  anger.      "  I  will  teach  you  better  manners." 

He  then  took  a  whip  and  gave  the  donkey  a 
crack  on  the  legs.  Pinocchio,  in  great  pain,  gave 
a  long  bray,  as  if  to  say,  "  Y-a,  y-a,  I  cannot 
digest  straw." 

"  Then  eat  hay,"  replied  the  master,  who  under- 
stood the  donkey  dialect  very  well. 

"  Y-a,  y-a.     Hay  gives  me  a  headache." 

"  You  mean  that  a  donkey  like  you  wants  to  eat 
chicken  and  capon?"  added  the  master;  and  he 
gave  him  another  lash  with  the  whip. 

At  the  second  rebuke  Pinocchio,  for  prudence' 
sake,  kept  quiet  and  said  nothing.  Meanwhile  the 
stall  was  closed  and  Pinocchio  remained  alone  ; 
and  because  he  had  not  eaten  anything  for  hours 
he  grew  very  hungry.  He  opened  his  mouth  and. 
was  surprised  to  find  that  it  was  so  large. 

He  finally  looked  around,  and  not  finding  any- 
thing in  the  manger  but  hay,  took  a  little.  After 
having  chewed  it  well  he  winked  his  eye  and  said  : 
"  This  hay  is  not  bad  at  all.  But  how  much  better 
off  I  should  have  been  if  I  had  not  run  away  ! 
Now  I  should  be  eating  something  nice  instead  of 
this  dry  stuff.     Oh  me  !  oh  me  !  oh  me  !  " 


PINOCCHIO  177 


When  he  awoke  the  next  morning  he  looked  into 
his  manger,  but  he  had  eaten  all  the  hay.  Then 
he  took  a  mouthful  of  straw  and  tried  that.  It  did 
not  taste  so  good  as  rice  alia  Milanese  or  mac- 
aroni alia  Napolitana  ;  but  he  managed  to  eat  it. 

"Oh  me!"  he  said  while  he  ate;  "oh,  if  I 
could  only  warn  other  boys  of  my  misfortune,  how 
happy  I  should  be  !     Oh  me  !  oh  me  !  " 

"Oh  me!"  repeated  the  master,  entering  the 
stall  at  that  moment.  "  Do  you  think,  donkey, 
that  I  have  bought  you  just  to  watch  you  eat  and 
drink  ?  Oh  no  !  I  bought  you  so  that  you  could 
earn  some  money  for  me.  Come  with  me  and  I 
will  teach  you  how  to  jump  and  bow;  and  then 
you  must  dance  the  waltz  and  the  polka  and  stand 
up  on  your  hind  legs." 

Poor  Pinocchio  !  He  had  a  hard  struggle.  It 
took  him  three  months  to  learn  these  things  and 
he  received  many  a  blow  from  his  teacher. 


178  PINOCCHIO 


The  day  finally  carne   when  the  master  could 

announce    to    the    public    a    most  extraordinary 

spectacle.      Posters    of    all    colors  were    pasted 
everywhere  and  they  read  thus  : 


GRAND   ENTERTAINMENT 

WILL    TAKE    PLACE    TO-NIGHT 


There  will  be  the  usual  wonderful  jumps  and  most  surprising  exercises 

Executed  by  all  the  Artists 

And  by  all  the  horses  in  this  remarkable  Company 

And  more  !  ! 

There  will  be  presented  for  the  first  time  The  Famous  Donkey 

PINOCCHIO 

Called 
The  Dancing  Star 

The  Theater  will  be  as  bright  as  day 


That  night,  as  you  can  easily  imagine,  there  was 
not  a  seat  to  be  had  in  the  house,  and  all  the  stand- 
ing room  was  taken  an  hour  before  the  show  began. 
The  whole  theater  swarmed  with  little  children  and 
babies  of  all  ages,  who  were  wild  to  see  the  famous 
donkey  Pinocchio  dance. 

When  the  first  part  of  the  performance  was  over 
the  master,  in  an  evening  coat,  with  white  trousers 


PINOCCHIO  179 


and  little  black  boots,   presented  himself  to  the 
public  and,  after  making  a  profound  bow,  shouted  : 

Respected  public,  ladies  and  gentlemen,  —  The  humble 
manager  of  this  performance,  passing  through  this  great 
metropolis,  has  told  me  to  say  that  it  is  his  wish  to  present 
to  this  intelligent  and  honorable  audience  a  celebrated  donkey 
that  has  already  had  the  honor  of  dancing  before  His  Majesty 
the  Emperor  at  all  the  principal  courts  of  Europe. 

This  discourse  was  received  with  much  laughter 
and  applause  ;  but  the  applause  redoubled  and 
became  a  species  of  hurricane  at  the  sight  of  the 
donkey  Pinocchio  on  the  stage.  He  was  dressed 
up  beautifully.  He  had  a  new  bridle  of  shining 
leather  with  buckles  of  polished  brass  ;  two  white 
camellias  tied  to  his  ears  ;  his  mane  divided  in  many 
curls  tied  with  red  silk  ;  a  large  band  of  gold  and 
silver  tied  around  his  waist  ;  and  his  tail  interlaced 
with  beautiful  ribbons  of  all  colors.  In  fact,  he 
was  the  most  gorgeous  donkey  that  ever  was  seen. 

The  master  then  presented  him  to  the  public 
with  these  words  : 

My  respected  auditors,  —  I  will  not  take  up  much  of 
your  time,  but  I  wish  to  tell  you  of  the  great  difficulties  I 
encountered  in  taming  and  teaching  this  animal.  Observe, 
I  pray  you,  how  savagely  violent  are  his  eyes.  It  seemed 
almost  impossible  that  I  should  be  able  to  train  him  to 
behave  like  other  domestic  animals.  All  my  gentleness  was 
received  with  scorn  and  I  was  obliged  *o  talk  to  him  in 


l8o  PINOCCHIO 


the  dialect  of  the  whip.  However,  I  noticed  on  his  head 
this  little  lump.  It  is  hard  to  see,  but  it  can  be  felt  very 
easily.  According  to  the  medical  faculty  of  Paris  this 
would  indicate  a  passion  for  dancing,  and  I  therefore  began 
to  teach  him  the  art  of  using  his  feet.  And  now  you  may 
judge  for  yourselves  whether  or  not  I  have  succeeded. 

Here  the  master  made  another  profound  bow 
and,  turning  to  Pinocchio,  said,  "Before  going 
through  your  exercises  salute  this  respected  and 
intelligent  audience." 

Pinocchio,  obeying,  fell  on  his  knees  and  stayed 
there  until  the  master  cracked  his  whip  and  cried, 
"Now  walk."  Then  the  donkey  stood  up  on  his 
four  feet  and  began  to  walk  around  in  a  circle. 

"  Now  trot."     And  Pinocchio  began  to  trot. 

"  Gallop."     And  Pinocchio  began  to  gallop. 

"Now  full  speed."  And  Pinocchio  ran  as  hard 
as  he  could.  While  he  was  running  the  master, 
raising  a  pistol,  fired  twice. 

At  that  sound  the  donkey,  pretending  to  be  hit, 
fell  flat  on  the  floor  as  if  he  were  dead. 

Raising  himself  in  the  midst  of  a  shower  of 
applause  which  could  be  heard  for  miles,  Pinocchio 
looked  at  the  audience.  As  he  looked  he  saw  a 
beautiful  lady  wearing  around  her  neck  a  large 
gold  chain  from  which  hung  a  medallion.  On  the 
medallion  was  engraved  the  picture  of  a  marionette. 


PINOCCHIO  l8l 


"  That  is  my  picture  !  That  lady  is  the  Fairy  !  " 
said  Pinocchio  to  himself,  recognizing  her  instantly. 
He  tried  to  cry,  "  Oh,  my  Fairy  !  oh,  my  Fairy  !  " 
But  instead  of  these  words  there  came  from  his 
throat  such  a  braying  that  everybody  laughed, 
especially  the  boys. 

Then  the  master,  in  order  to  teach  him  better 
manners  than  to  bray  at  the  audience,  gave  him  a 
blow  on  the  nose  with  the  handle  of  the  whip. 
The  poor  donkey  licked  his  nose  at  least  a  dozen 
times  because  it  pained  him  so.  But  what  was  his 
desperation  when,  turning  around  a  second  time 
and  looking  toward  the  Fairy,  he  found  that  she 
had  disappeared. 

He  thought  he  should  die.  His  eyes  filled  with 
tears  and  he  began  to  cry.  No  one,  however,  saw 
it,  not  even  the  master,  who,  cracking  his  whip,  cried, 
"Now  show  the  people  how  well  you  can  dance." 

Pinocchio  tried  two  or  three  times  ;  but  every 
time  he  came  before  the  audience  his  feet  slipped 
from  under  him.  Finally,  in  a  great  effort,  his 
hind  foot  slipped  so  badly  that  he  fell  to  the 
floor  in  a  heap.  When  he  got  up  he  was  so  lame 
that  he  could  hardly  walk  and  had  to  be  taken  to 
his  stall. 

"  Bring  out  Pinocchio  !  We  want  the  donkey  ! 
Bring  him  out  !  "   cried  the  boys  in  the  theater, 


r  -_--..  s_  ; 


182 


PINOCCHIO  183 


who  had  seen  the  pitiful  sight.  But  the  donkey 
could  not  be  seen  any  more  that  night.  The  next 
morning  the  veterinary,  that  is,  the  doctor  of  beasts, 
when  he  saw  the  poor  donkey,  declared  that  he 
would  be  lame  all  through  life.  Then  the  master 
said  to  the  stable  boy:  "What  can  we  do  with  a 
lame  donkey  ?  To  keep  him  would  be  feeding  one 
more  mouth  for  nothing.  Take  him  to  the  square 
and  sell  him." 

When  they  arrived  at  the  square  they  immediately 
found  a  buyer  who  asked  the  price. 

"  Four  dollars,"  replied  the  stable  boy. 

"I  will  give  you  twenty-five  cents  for  him.  Do 
not  think  that  I  buy  him  for  hauling.  Oh,  no;  I 
want  him  to  skin.  I  see  that  his  skin  is  ..very  hard, 
—  just  the  thing  for  a  drum  or  a  tambourine." 

Just  imagine  how  Pinocchio  felt  when  he  heard 
that  he  was  worth  only  twenty-five  cents  !  Then, 
too,  to  be  used  as  a  drum  to  be  beaten  upon  all 
the  time  ! 

The  buyer  had  hardly  paid  for  him  when  he 
led  him  to  the  top  of  a  cliff  on  the  shore  of  the 
sea,  and,  tying  a  heavy  stone  around  his  neck 
and  binding  his  feet  together  with  cords,  threw 
him  over  the  edge. 

The  donkey,  with  this  heavy  weight  around  his 
neck,  sank  to  the  bottom  immediately.     The  buyer. 


1 84 


PINOCCHIO 


who  had  one  end  of  the  rope  in  his  hands,  sat  down 
and  waited  awhile,  so  that  the  donkey  would  have 
time  to  drown. 


CHAPTER    XXXIV 


When  the  donkey  had  been  under  water  about 
an  hour,  the  buyer,  talking  to  himself,  said  :  "  Now 
my  nice-looking  lame  donkey  ought  to  be  dead  by 
this  time.  I  will  pull  him  up  and  then  set  to  work 
to  make  a  drum."  And  he  began  to  pull  the  rope 
with  which  he  had  bound  the  donkey.  He  pulled 
and  pulled  and  pulled,  until  he  saw  coming  out  of 
the  water  —  what  do  you  think  ?  Instead  of  a 
dead  donkey  he  saw  a  marionette,  alive  and  kick- 
ing, struggling  and  twisting  like  an  eel. , 

Seeing  the  wooden  marionette,  the  buyer  thought 
that  he  was  dreaming  ;  and  he  stood  there  astonished, 

185 


186  PINOCCHIO 


with  his  mouth  open  and  his  eyes  nearly  out  of  his 

head.     When  he  found  words  he  said,  "  Where  is 

the  little  donkey  that  I  threw  overboard  ?  " 

"  I  am  that  little  donkey,"  replied  the  marionette, 

laughing. 

"You?" 
"  j  » 

"  Ah  !  You  cheat  !  Do  you  think  that  you  can 
make  fun  of  me  ?  " 

"  Make  fun  of  you  ?  On  the  contrary,  I  speak 
to  you  seriously." 

"  But  how  is  it  that  a  little  while  ago  you  were 
a  donkey  and  now,  after  you  have  been  in  the 
water  for  an  hour,  you  are  a  wooden  marionette  ?  " 

"  It  is  the  effect  of  the  sea  water.  The  sea 
never  tells  its  secrets,  and  this  is  one  of  its  little 
tricks." 

"Take  care,  marionette,  take  care!  Do  not 
think  that  you  can  pull  wool  over  my  eyes.  Woe 
to  you  if  I  lose  my  patience  !  " 

"Very  well.  Do  you  wish  to  know  the  true 
story  ?     Untie  my  legs  and  I  will  tell  you." 

The  buyer,  curious  to  know  the  true  story, 
untied  the  knots  that  bound  the  marionette  ;  and 
then  Pinocchio,  finding  himself  as  free  as  a  bird 
in  the  air,  said  :  "  Know,  then,  that  I  was  at  first 
a  wooden  marionette  as  I  am  to-day.     But  I  was 


PINOCCHIO  187 


on  the  point  of  becoming  a  boy,  just  like  other 
boys,  when  I  listened  to  the  advice  of  a  bad  com- 
panion, and  one  morning  I  awoke  and  found 
myself  turned  into  a  donkey  with  big  ears  and  a 
beautiful  tail.  What  shame  I  felt  when  I  saw  that 
I  had  a  tail  !  I  was  then  led  to  a  square  where  a 
master  bought  me  and  taught  me  to  do  tricks  and 
dance.  One  night,  when  I  was  performing,  I  fell 
and  sprained  my  leg  so  badly  that  I  could  hardly 
stand  on  it.  Then  the  master,  who  did  not  know 
what  to  do  with  a  lame  donkey,  sold  me  to  you." 

"  Yes  ;  I  paid  twenty-five  cents  for  you.  But 
who  will  give  me  my  money  back  ?  " 

"  Yes  ;  you  bought  me  and  planned  to  beat  me 
by  placing  my  skin  over  a  drum." 

"  Where  shall  I  find  another  skin  ?  " 

"That  is  not  for  me  to  say." 

"Tell  me,  then,  if  you  please,  is  your  story 
finished  ?  " 

"No,"  replied  the  marionette;  "there  are  a 
few  more  words,  and  then  I  shall  be  through. 
After  you  bought  me  you  led  me  here  to  kill  me  ; 
but  then,  being  a  humane  man,  you  decided  to 
drown  me.  This  delicate  attention  on  your  part 
is  most  honorable  and  I  shall  always  remember 
your  goodness.  You  would  have  succeeded  if  it 
had  not  been  for  the  good  Fairy." 


188  PINOCCHIO 


"Who  is  the  Fairy?" 

"  She  is  my  mamma,  who  is  like  all  other  mammas 
in  this  world.  She  liked  me  and  tried  to  make  me 
a  good  and  studious  boy.  As  soon  as  the  good 
Fairy  saw  me  in  danger  of  drowning  she  sent  a 
school  of  fishes,  which,  believing  that  I  was  really 
dead,  began  to  eat  me.  And  what  mouthfuls  they 
took  !  Some  ate  my  ears  ;  some  my  neck  and 
mane  ;  some  the  skin  on  my  legs  ;  some  the  hair 
on  my  back  ;  and  among  them  there  was  one  big 
fish  that  ate  my  tail  at  one  bite.  When  the  fish 
had  eaten  everything  they  finally  came  to  the 
bones,  —  or  rather,  they  came  to  the  wood.  Find- 
ing that  too  hard  for  their  teeth,  they  went  away 
and  did  not  even  look  back  to  say  good-by." 

"I  do  not  believe  your  silly  story,"  said  the 
buyer,  now  very  angry.  "  I  know  I  have  spent 
twenty-five  cents  and  I  want  my  money  again.  ,  Do 
you  know  what  I  will  do  ?  I  will  carry  you  back 
to  the  square  and  sell  you  for  a  piece  of  kindling 
wood." 

"All  right!"  said  Pinocchio.  Thus  saying,  he 
jumped  into  the  water  and,  swimming  lightly,  drew 
away  from  the  coast,  calling  to  the  poor  buyer  : 
"  Good-by,  dear  sir  !  If  you  want  a  drumhead, 
don't  forget  me."  And  then  he  laughed  and  kept 
on  swimming. 


PINOCCHIO  189 


After  a  little  time  he  turned  around  and  shouted  : 
"  Good-by,  dear  sir  !  If  you  want  a  piece  of  kind- 
ling wood,  don't  forget  me." 

Almost  in  the  twinkling  of  an  eye  he  was  so  far 
away  that  he  could  hardly  be  seen  ;  that  is,  one 
could  see  only  a  little  black  point  on  the  water, 
splashing  around  just  like  a  jolly  dolphin. 

Meanwhile,  as  Pinocchio  swam  around,  he  saw 
not  very  far  away  a  rock  which  looked  like  white 
marble.  On  the  top  of  the  rock  there  was  a  beau- 
tiful Goat  that  bleated  and  made  a  sign  to  him  to 
come  nearer.  The  most  singular  thing  about  this 
goat  was  the  color  of  its  wool.  It  was  not  white 
or  black  or  any  color  that  other  goats  have.  It  was 
blue,  just  like  the  hair  of  the  beautiful  Fairy. 

I  will  leave  you  to  imagine  how  the  heart  of 
Pinocchio  began  to  beat.  He  redoubled  his  efforts 
to  reach  the  rock.  Already  he  was  halfway  there 
when  he  saw  coming  out  of  the  water  the  horrible 
head  of  a  sea  monster,  with  mouth  opened  wide  like 
an  abyss  and  three  rows  of  teeth  that  would  frighten 
you,  even  to  see  them  painted  in  a  picture  book. 

Can  you  guess  who  that  monster  was  ?  It  was 
no  other  than  the  huge  Dogfish  described  several 
times  in  this  story.  On  account  of  his  destructive 
and  bloodthirsty  nature  he  was  called  "The  Attila 
of  fishes  and  fishermen." 


190  PINOCCHIO 


Imagine  the  fright  of  poor  Pinocchio  at  the  sight 
of  the  monster  !  He  sought  to  avoid  him,  —  to 
change  his  road.  He  tried  to  escape  ;  but  that 
immense  open  mouth  came  always  toward  him 
with  the  velocity  of  an  arrow. 

"Hurry,  Pinocchio!"  cried  the  Goat,  bleating 
loudly.  And  Pinocchio  swam  desperately  with  his 
arms,  with  his  chest,  with  his  legs,  and  with  his  feet. 

"  Hurry,  Pinocchio,  for  the  monster  approaches 
you  !  "  And  Pinocchio,  gathering  his  force,  re- 
doubled his  strokes. 

"  Take  care  !  take  care  !  He  is  gaining  !  Hurry  ! 
Oh,  hurry,  or  you  are  lost  !  "  Pinocchio  swam 
faster  than  ever,  and  away  they  both  raced,  going 
as  fast  as  bullet  balls.  As  they  approached  the 
rock  the  Goat  held  out  its  two  front  paws  to  aid 
Pinocchio  to  land.     But  — 

It  was  too  late  !  The  monster  had  been  too 
quick.  Drawing  in  a  quantity  of  water,  he  drank 
Pinocchio  just  as  if  he  were  sucking  an  egg.  He 
swallowed  him  with  such  violence  that  the  mario- 
nette arrived  in  the  stomach  of  the  Dogfish  with 
such  force  that  he  was  stunned  for  a  quarter  of 
an  hour. 

When  he  regained  consciousness  after  being 
swallowed  he  did  not  know  where  he  was.  All 
around    him   was    darkness    so    intense    that    he 


PINOCCHIO  191 


thought  he  had  put  his  head  into  the  top  of  an 
ink  bottle.  He  listened  but  he  heard  nothing. 
From  time  to  time  he  felt  a  great  gust  of  wind 
striking  his  face.  At  first  he  did  not  know  whence 
the  wind  came,  but  afterward  he  thought  it  was 
from  the  lungs  of  the  monster  ;  for  you  must  know, 
my  little  readers,  that  the  Dogfish  was  a  great  suf- 
ferer from  asthma,  and  when  he  breathed  it  sounded 
like  the  north  wind. 

At  first  Pinocchio  tried  to  be  brave  ;  but  when 
he  had  tried  and  then  tried  again  to  find  an  exit 
and  found  himself  still  inclosed  in  the  body  of  the 
monster,  he  began  to  cry  and  to  scream  :  "  Help  ! 
help  !  Oh,  dear  me  !  Is  there  no  one  who  can  save 
me?" 

"Who  wishes  to  be  saved  ?  "  asked  a  voice  that 
sounded  in  the  darkness  like  a  guitar  out  of 
tune. 

"Who  is  it  that  speaks  like  that  ?  "  asked  Pinoc- 
chio, feeling  himself  nearly  frozen  with  fear. 

"It  is  I.  I  am  a  poor  Tunny  fish,  who  was 
swallowed  at  the  same  time  you  were.  What  kind 
of  fish  are  you  ?  " 

"  I  have  nothing  to  do  with  fishes.  I  am  a  mario- 
nette." 

"Then,  if  you  are  not  a  fish,  why  were  you 
swallowed  by  the  monster  ?  " 


192 


PINOCCHIO 


"  It  is  all  your  fault.  If  you  had  not  been 
there,  I  surely  should  have  escaped.  And  now 
what  can  we  do  in  this  dark  place  ?  " 

"  We  must  resign  ourselves  to  our  fate,  and  wait 
until  we  are  digested." 

"But  I  do  not  wish  to  be  digested,"  said  Pinoc- 
"chio,  beginning  to  cry. 


PINOCCHIO  193 


"Neither  do  I  wish  to  be  digested,"  added  the 
Tunny  ;  "  but  I  am  philosopher  enough  to  console 
myself  by  thinking  that  it  is  more  dignified  to  die 
under  water  than  to  be  soaking  in  vinegar  and  oil." 

"  Nonsense  !  "  cried  Pinocchio. 

"It  is  my  opinion,"  replied  the  Tunny;  "and 
the  opinion  of  fishes  should  be  respected." 

"As  for  me,"  said  Pinocchio,  "I  wish  to  go 
away  from  here  ;  I  want  to  escape." 

"  Escape  if  you  can." 

"Is  the  Dogfish  very  large?"  asked  the  mario- 
nette. 

"  Why,  his  body  is  a  mile  long  without  counting 
his  tail." 

In  the  meantime  Pinocchio  thought  he  saw  in 
the  distance  a  little  glimmer  of  light. 

"  What  can  that  be  ?  "  he  asked. 

"  Some  poor  unfortunate  that  is  probably  being 
digested." 

"Well,  I  am  going  to  see.  It  may  be  some  old 
fish  that  can  tell  me  the  way  to  walk  around  here." 

"  I  wish  you  good  luck,  my  poor  marionette." 

"Good-by,  Tunny." 

"  Good-by,  marionette,  and  good  fortune  go  with 
you." 

"  When  shall  we  meet  again  ?  " 

"  Who  knows  ?    It  is  better  not  to  think  of  that." 


CHAPTER  XXXV 

As  soon  as  Pinocchio  had  said 
good-by  to  his  friend  the  Tunny,  he  moved  around, 
groping  in  the  darkness.  Walking  inside  the  Dog- 
fish, he  advanced  toward  the  little  light  that  shone 
so  far  away. 

As  he  groped  along  he  felt  his  feet  wading  in  a 
puddle  of  greasy,  slippery  water.  The  water  had 
such  a  pungent  odor  of  fried  fish  that  he  thought 
it  must  be  Lent. 

The  more  he  walked,  the  clearer  and  more  dis- 
tinct became  the  light,  until  finally  he  arrived  at 
the  end  of  the  passage.  What  did  he  find  ?  I  will 
let  you  guess  a  thousand  times.  He  found  a  little 
table  all  nicely  set,  and  lighted  by  a  candle  stuck 
into  a  green  bottle.  Seated  behind  the  table  he 
saw  an  old  man  with  snow-white  beard  and  hair; 
who  was  slowly  eating  some  little  live  fish. 

At  the  sight  of  the  poor  old  man  Pinocchio 
became  so  overjoyed  that  he  nearly  lost  his  senses. 
He  wished  to  laugh  ;  he  wished  to  cry.  He  did  not 
194 


PINOCCHIO  195 


know  what  to  do.  He  finally  murmured  some  joy- 
ous sounds,  for  words  stuck  in  his  throat.  Giving 
a  cry  of  pleasure,  he  rushed  to  the  old  man,  threw 
his  arms  around  his  neck,  and  cried  :  "  Oh,  my  dear 
father  !  At  last  I  have  found  you  !  Now  I  will 
never  leave  you  again,  never,  never,  never  !  " 

"Do  my  eyes  tell  me  truly?"  asked  the  old 
man,  rubbing  them.  "Do  I  really  see  my  dear 
Pinocchio  ?  '  ' 

"  Yes,  yes  ;  it  is  I,  truly,  Pinocchio  !  And  you 
have  already  forgiven  me,  have  you  not?  Oh,  my 
papa  !  How  good  you  are  !  And  to  think  that  I' — 
Oh,  but  if  you  only  knew  how  many  things  have 
happened  to  me,  —  how  many  troubles  and  trials  ! 
Just  imagine,  the  day  you  sold  your  coat  for  my 
ABC  card  I  ran  away  from  school  and  met  some 
marionettes,  and  the  manager  wished  to  put  me  on 
the  fire  so  that  I  could  cook  some  mutton  that  he 
wanted  to  eat.  He  gave  me  some  pieces  of  gold 
for  you;  but  when  I  went  toward  home  I  met  a 
Fox  and  a  Cat,  who  led  me  to  an  inn  called  the 
Red  Lobster,  where  they  ate  like  wolves.  I  left 
the  inn  at  night  and  met  assassins  who  began  to 
run  after  me  and  finally  caught  me  and  hanged 
me  to  a  large  oak.  Then  a  beautiful  Fairy  with 
Blue  Hair  sent  a  carriage  to  take  me  to  her  house, 
where  there  were  doctors  who  said  if  I  was  not  dead 


ig6  PINOCCHIO 


it  was  a  sign  that  I  was  alive.  Then  I  told  a  lie 
and  my  nose  commenced  to  grow  so  that  I  could 
not  pass  through  the  door  of  the  room.  After  that 
I  met  the  Fox  and  the  Cat,  who  advised  me  to  put 
the  money  in  the  ground  and  watch  it  grow.  I 
lost  it  all,  for  I  believed  their  story.  When  I  told 
the  judge  of  the  town  he  put  me  in  prison  for  being 
so  foolish.  After  I  was  set  free  I  walked  along  a 
road  and,  feeling  hungry,  I  looked  for  a  bunch  of 
grapes  ;  but  I  was  caught  in  a  trap  and  a  farmer 
took  me  to  his  house  and  made  me  play  dog.  After 
I  had  caught  the  thieves  that  robbed  his  hencoop, 
he  set  me  free  ;  and  I  met  a  Serpent  with  a  smoking 
tail,  and  it  laughed  so  hard  that  it  died.  Then  I 
hurried  to  the  house  of  the  beautiful  Fairy,  but  she 
was  gone.  Oh,  how  unhappy  I  was  !  Then  a 
Dove,  seeing  me  cry,  said  to  me,  '  I  have  seen  your 
papa  making  a  ship  to  go  and  look  for  you  '  ;  and  I 
said,  '  Oh  !  if  I  had  wings  I  would  fly  to  him  !  ' 
And  the  Dove  said,  '  Get  on  my  back  '  ;  and  away 
we  flew  all  night.  The  next  day,  when  we  arrived 
at  the  shore,  the  fishermen,  looking  toward  the  sea, 
said  to  me,  '  There  in  that  boat  is  a  poor  old  man 
who  will  sink  '  ;  for  the  water  was  so  rough.  And 
I  ran  to  a  rock  and  recognized  you,  because  my 
heart  told  me  that  you  were  there  ;  and  I  made  a 
sign  for  you  to  come  back  to  the  shore  —  " 


PINOCCHIO  197 


"I  recognized  you  also,"  said  Geppetto,  "and 
I  would  willingly  have  come  back  ;  but  how  could 
I  ?  —  the  sea  was  so  rough  and  my  boat  was  so 
frail.  Then  a  horrible  Dogfish  that  was  near  me 
put  out  its  tongue  and  swallowed  me  like  a  pill." 

"  And  how  long  have  you  been  shut  up  here  ?  " 
asked  Pinocchio. 

"  Two  years,  Pinocchio,  that  seemed  like  two 
centuries." 

"  And  how  have  you  lived  ?  And  where  did  you 
find  the  candle  and  the  matches  to  light  it  ?  " 

"  I  will  tell  you  all.  Fortunately,  when  the  Dog- 
fish swallowed  me  he  swallowed  also  the  provisions 
I  had  on  board  the  ship  —  " 

"  What  ?  He  swallowed  all  in  a  mouthful  ?  " 
asked  Pinocchio,  surprised. 

"  All  in  a  mouthful.  But  he  did  not  like  the  mast 
of  the  boat  ;  for  that  stuck  in  his  teeth  like  a  tooth- 
pick and  he  spat  that  out.  As  the  boat  was  loaded 
with  preserved  meat,  figs,  biscuits,  wine,  raisins,  cof- 
fee, sugar,  candles,  and  matches,  I  was  well  supplied. 
To-day,  however,  I  am  burning  my  last  candle  —  " 

"And  after  that?" 

"  Why,  my  dear  boy,  we  shall  both  be  left  in  the 
dark." 

"Then,  Papa,"  said  Pinocchio,  "there  is  no  time 
to  lose.     We  must  hurry  and  escape." 


198  PINOCCHIO 


"  How  ?  " 

"  Why,  we  must  escape  from  the  mouth  of  the 
Dogfish  and  throw  ourselves  into  the  sea." 

"But  I  do  not  know  how  to  swim." 

"  That  does  not  matter.  You  can  get  on  my 
back  and  I  will  take  you  to  the  shore." 

"  You  are  dreaming,  my  boy,"  said  Geppetto, 
shaking  his  head. 

"Try  it  and  see.  Anyway,  we  shall  have  the 
consolation  of  dying  together." 

And  without  saying  any  more  Pinocchio  took 
the  candle  and  started  to  walk  toward  the  mouth 
of  the  Dogfish.  "  Come  along,  and  do  not  be  afraid, 
Papa,"  said  Pinocchio. 

And  thus  they  walked  along  for  a  little  while, 
traversing  the  whole  length  of  the  Dogfish's 
stomach.  When  they  arrived  at  the  end  they 
stopped  so  as  to  look  carefully  before  trying  to 
escape. 

Now,  my  little  readers,  you  must  know  that  the 
Dogfish,  being  very  old  and  suffering  from  asthma 
and  palpitation  of  the  heart,  was  obliged  to  sleep 
with  his  mouth  open.  Pinocchio,  therefore,  looking 
up  through  the  throat,  saw  the  starry  heavens  and 
the  light  of  the  moon. 

"This  is  truly  the  time  to  escape,"  whispered 
Pinocchio  ;  "  the  Dogfish  sleeps  and  the  sea  is  very 


PINOCCHIO 


199 


smooth.  Come,  then,  Papa.  Follow  me  and  we 
shall  soon  be  outside." 

No  sooner  said  than  done.  They  mounted  the 
throat  of  the  huge  sea  monster  and,  arriving  in 
the  immense  mouth,  began  to  walk  on  the  tips  of 
their  toes  along  the  tongue.  Suddenly  the  Dog- 
fish sneezed.  The  candle  was  blown  out,  and  both 
Geppetto  and  Pinocchio  were  given  a  violent  shake 
and  found  themselves  back  once  more  in  the  Dog- 
fish's stomach. 

"Now  we  are  truly  lost,"  said  Geppetto. 

"  Give  me  your  hand,  and  be  careful  not  to  slip." 

"  Where  are  you  leading  me  ?  " 

"  Come  along  and  do  not  be  afraid." 

Thus  saying,  Pinocchio  took  his  papa's  hand  and 
again  they  mounted  the  throat  of  the  monster, 
always  going  on  tiptoe.  Then  passing  along  the 
tongue  and  the  three  rows  of  teeth,  they  found 
themselves  out  in  the  air. 

"  Get  on  my  back,"  said  Pinocchio,  "and  hold  on 
tight." 

Scarcely  had  Geppetto  placed  his  arms  around 
Pinocchio's  neck  when  the  brave  marionette  began 
to  swim.  The  sea  was  as  smooth  as  oil,  the 
moon  was  resplendent,  and  the  Dogfish  continued 
to  sleep  so  soundly  that  not  even  a  cannon  shot 
would  have  awakened  him. 


aoo 


CHAPTER   XXXVI 

While  Pinocchio  swam  fast  so  as  to  reach  the 
beach  quickly,  he  perceived  that  his  papa,  who  sat 
on  his  back,  trembled  just  as  if  he  had  a  high 
fever.  Did  he  tremble  from  cold  or  fear  ?  Who 
knows  ?  Perhaps  a  little  of  both.  But  Pinocchio, 
believing  that  he  trembled  from  fear,  said  to  him 
in  a  comforting  tone  :  "  Courage,  Papa  !  In  a  little 
while  we  shall  arrive  on  the  shore  safe  and  sound." 

"But  where  is  the  shore?"  asked  the  old  man, 
becoming  more  and  more  uneasy  and  straining  his 
eyes  to  see  it,  just  as  tailors  do  when  they  thread 
a  needle.  "  Here  we  are,  swimming  all  night  ;  and 
I  see  only  sky  and  sea." 

"But  I  see  the  shore,"  said  the  marionette. 
"Through  your  skill  in  making  me,  I  can  see  in 
the  night  as  well  as  a  cat." 

Poor  Pinocchio  pretended  to  be  in  good  humor  ; 
but  he  was  really  beginning  to  lose  heart.  His 
strength  was  giving  out  and  his  breath  growing 

201 


202  PINOCCHIO 


shorter.  In  fact,  he  could  not  swim  much  longer 
and  the  shore  could  not  be  seen. 

He  swam  until  he  had  no  more  breath.  Then 
he  turned  his  head  toward  Geppetto  and  said  in 
broken  tones,  "  Help  me,  Papa,  or  I  shall  die." 

The  father  and  the  boy  were  nearly  drowned 
when  they  heard  a  voice,  like  a  guitar  out  of  tune, 
saying,  "  Who  is  going  to  die  ?  " 

"My  papa  and  I." 

"  I  recognize  that  voice.     You  are  Pinocchio." 

"  Exactly  ;  and  who  are  you  ?  " 

"  I  am  Tunny,  your  companion  in  the  Dogfish's 
stomach." 

"  How  did  you  escape  ?  " 

"  I  followed  your  example.  You  taught  me  the 
way  ;  and  after  I  saw  you  go,  I  went  also." 

"  Oh,  my  friend,  you  have  come  just  in  time  ! 
I  pray  you,  for  the  love  you  bear  your  little  tunny 
fishes,  to  help  us,  or  we  are  lost." 

"  With  all  my  heart  !  Get  on  my  back  and  in 
a  few  minutes  we  shall  reach  land." 

As  you  may  easily  imagine,  Geppetto  and  Pinoc- 
chio quickly  accepted  the  invitation. 

"  Are  we  too  heavy  ?  "  asked  Pinocchio. 

"Heavy?  Why,  you  are  like  two  shadows.  It 
seems  to  me  that  I  have  two  small  shells  on  my 
back." 


PINOCCHIO  203 


When  they  arrived  at  the  shore  Pinocchio  was 
the  first  to  jump  down,  and  he  helped  his  papa. 
Then  he  turned  to  the  Tunny  and,  with  a  voice 
that  trembled  with  emotion,  said  :  "  My  friend,  you 
have  saved  my  papa  and  me.  I  do  not  know  how 
to  thank  you.  Permit  me  to  kiss  you  as  a  sign  of 
eternal  friendship." 

The  Tunny  put  his  nose  out  of  the  water,  and 
Pinocchio,  kneeling  on  the  ground,  gave  the  fish  an 
affectionate  kiss.  At  this  sign  of  tenderness  the 
poor  Tunny,  who  was  not  accustomed  to  such 
kindness,  felt  himself  so  moved  that  he  began  to 
cry  like  a  baby,  and  quickly  sank  into  the  water 
to  hide  his  tears. 

In  the  meantime  the  sun  arose.  Then  Pinocchio, 
offering  his  arm  to  his  papa,  who  was  very  weak, 
said  :  "  Lean  on  my  arm,  dear  Papa,  and  let  us  go. 
We  will  walk  just  as  slowly  as  ants,  and  when  we 
are  tired  we  will  rest  ourselves." 

"And  where  shall  we  go  ?  "  asked  Geppetto. 

"  In  search  of  a  house  where  we  can  get  a  bit  to 
eat  and  some  straw  to  lie  upon." 

But  they  had  not  gone  a  hundred  steps  when 
they  saw  two  ugly  faces  asking  for  money.  They 
were  the  faces  of  the  Fox  and  the  Cat  ;  but  one 
would  not  have  recognized  them.  Just  think  !  the 
Cat  who  feigned  to   be  blind  had  really  become 


204 


PINOCCHIO 


so,  and  the  Fox's  hair  was  all  shaggy  and  he  had 
lost  his  tail. 

"Oh,  Pinocchio,"  cried  the  Fox,  "give  a  little 
charity  to  two  old  people." 

"Two  old  people,"  repeated  the  Cat. 

"  Good-by,  ma^queraders,"  replied  Pinocchio; 
"you  deceived  me  once  and  now  you  are  paying 
for  it." 


"  Believe  us,  Pinocchio,  we  are  to-day  truly  poor 
and  starving." 

"Truly,"  repeated  the  Cat. 

"  If  you  are  poor,  you  deserve  it.  Remember  the 
proverb  that  says,  '  Stolen  money  will  never  bear 
fruit.'     Good-by,  deceivers  !  " 

"  Have  compassion  on  us." 

"  On  us,"  said  the  Cat. 

"Good-by.  Remember  the  proverb  that  says, 
4  Stolen  wheat  always  makes  poor  bread.'  " 


PINOCCHIO  205 


"Do  not  abandon  us." 

"  No,  no  !  "   said  the  Cat. 

"  Good-by.  Remember  the  proverb,  '  Whoever 
steals  the  cloak  of  his  neighbor  usually  dies  without 
a  shirt.'  " 

Geppetto  and  Pinocchio  continued  their  walk  until 
they  saw  a  small  farmhouse  with  a  straw  roof. 

"That  house  is  inhabited  by  some  one,"  said 
Pinocchio.     "  Let  us  go  and  knock  at  the  door." 

"Who  is  there  ?  "  said  a  voice  inside,  when  they 
had  reached  the  house. 

"  We  are  a  poor  papa  and  his  son,  without  bread 
or  a  home,"  replied  the  marionette. 

"  Turn  the  key  and  the  door  will  open,"  said  the 
same  voice. 

Pinocchio  turned  the  key  and  the  door  opened. 
As  soon  as  they  entered  the  house  they  looked 
around,  but  saw  no  one.  "  Where  is  the  master  of 
this  house  ?  "  asked  Pinocchio,  greatly  surprised. 

"  Here  I  am,  up  here." 

Papa  and  son  turned  quickly  and  saw  on  a  rafter 
the  Talking  Cricket. 

"  Oh,  my  dear  Cricket  !  "  said  Pinocchio,  saluting 
him  politely. 

"  Now  you  call  me  your  dear  Cricket,  do  you 
not  ?  Do  you  remember  the  time  when  you  struck 
me  with  a  hammer  ?  " 


206  PINOCCHIO 


"  Yes,  you  were  right,  Cricket.  Take  a  hammer 
and  hit  me,  but  spare  my  poor  papa." 

"  I  will  have  pity  on  you  both  ;  but  I  wished  to 
remind  you  of  your  ugly  manners." 

"  Yes,  Cricket,  you  were  right  to  tell  me  what 
you  did.  You  were  right,  and  I  will  bear  in  mind 
the  lessons  you  have  taught  me.  But  tell  me,  how 
did  you  build  such  a  nice  large  house  ?  " 

"  This  little  house  was  given  me  yesterday  by  a 
beautiful  Goat  that  had  blue  wool." 

"  And  where  has  the  Goat  gone  ?  "  asked  Pinoc- 
chio, with  lively  curiosity. 

"  I  do  not  know." 

"  And  when  will  it  return  ?  " 

"  Never.  Yesterday  it  went  away  bleating.  I 
thought  I  heard  it  say,  '  Poor  Pinocchio  !  I  shall 
never  see  him  again.  The  Dogfish  has  swallowed 
him.'  " 

"  It  said  that  ?  Then  it  was  she.  It  was  the 
beautiful  Fairy,"  said  Pinocchio,  and  he  began  to  cry. 

When  he  had  cried  a  long  time  he  dried  his  eyes 
and  prepared  a  nice  bed  of  straw  for  his  papa.  Then 
he  said  to  the  Talking  Cricket,  "  Tell  me,  Cricket, 
where  I  can  find  a  glass  of  milk  for  my  poor  papa." 

"  Three  fields  from  here  you  will  see  a  farmer 
who  has  cows.  Go  to  him  and  you  will  find  the 
milk  you  seek." 


PINOCCHIO  207 


Pinocchio  ran  toward  the  farmer  and  said  to 
him,  "  Will  you  please  give  me  some  milk  ?  " 

"How  much  do  you  want  ?  " 

"  I  want  a  glassful. "' 

"  A  glass  of  milk  costs  one  cent.  Where  is  the 
money  ?  " 

"  I  have  nothing,"  cried  Pinocchio,  mortified. 

"  If  you  have  no  money,  I  have  no  milk." 

"  I  am  so  sorry  !  "  said  Pinocchio. 

"Wait  a  minute,"  said  the  farmer;  "I  think  we 
can  arrange  it.  Do  you  know  how  to  draw  water 
from  a  well  ?  " 

"  I  can  try." 

"  Well,  draw  me  one  hundred  bucketfuls  and  I 
will  give  you  a  glass  of  milk." 

"All  right!" 

Pinocchio  worked  so  hard  that  when  he  had 
finished  he  was  wet  with  perspiration  from  head  to 
foot.     He  had  never  felt  so  tired  in  all  his  life. 

"  I  have  a  little  donkey  that  draws  water  for  me; 
but  to-day  he  is  sick,  poor  thing  !  " 

"  May  I  see  him  ?  "  asked  Pinocchio. 

"  Certainly." 

As  soon  as  Pinocchio  saw  the  donkey  he  recog- 
nized him.  "  I  think  I  know  that  donkey,"  said  he. 
Speaking  to  it  in  the  donkey  language,  he  asked, 
"Who  are  you?"     At  the  question  the  donkey 


208  PINOCCHIO 


opened  his  eyes  and  replied  in  the  same  language, 
"  I  am  Lamp  Wick  ;  "  then  he  closed  his  eyes  again. 

"  Oh,  my  poor  Lamp  Wick,"  said  Pinocchio  in 
an  undertone;  and  then  he  took  a  little  hay  and 
gave  it  to  him. 

"Why  do  you  take  so  much  interest  in  a  donkey 
that  is  not  worth  a  cent  ?  "  asked  the  farmer. 

"  I  will  tell  you.     He  was  a  friend  of  mine." 

"Your  friend?" 

"Yes  ;  a  school  companion." 

"How  is  that?"  asked  the  farmer,  bursting 
into  laughter.  "You  had  donkeys  for  school 
companions  ?  " 

The  marionette  felt  so  mortified  at  these  words 
that  he  took  the  glass  of  milk  and  returned  to  his 
papa. 

From  that  day,  for  five  months  afterward,  Pinoci 
chio  continued  to  get  up  in  the  morning  at  day- 
break  to  draw  water  for  the  farmer  ;  and  he  gained 
only  a  little  milk  for  his  trouble.  He  was  not 
contented  with  simply  doing  that  ;  he  learned  to 
make  straw  mats  and  sold  them  to  buy  food  for 
his  daily  wants.  Among  other  things,  he  made  a 
little  cart  so  that  he  could  take  his  papa  out  and 
give  him  a  little  fresh  air. 

In  the  evenings  he  practiced  reading  and  writing. 
In  fact,  he  behaved  so  nicely  that  his  papa  was 


PINOCCHIO 


209 


overjoyed.  One  morning  he  said  to  Geppetto  :  "  I 
am  going  to  market  to  buy  a  jacket,  a  cap,  and  a 
pair  of  shoes.  When  I  come  back  I  shall  be 
dressed  like  a  real  gentleman." 

Outside  the  house  he  began  to  run,  because  he 
was  so  happy.  Suddenly  he  heard  himself  called 
by  name,  and,  turning,  he  saw  a  beautiful  Snail. 

"  Do  you  not  know  me  ?  "  asked  the  Snail. 


"It  seems  to  me —     It  seems  to  me  —  " 

"  Don't  you  remember  the  Snail  that  lived  with 
the  beautiful  Fairy  with  the  Blue  Hair  ?  " 

"I  remember  all,"  cried  Pinocchio.  "Tell  me 
quickly,  where  is  the  beautiful  Fairy  now?  " 

At  these  words  the  Snail  replied  with  his  usual 
slowness,  "The  beautiful  Fairy  lies  ill  in  a  hospital." 

"  In  a  hospital  ?  " 


2IO  PINOCCHIO 


"Yes.  Wounded  by  so  many  misfortunes,  she 
is  very  sick  and  so  poor  that  she  eats  only  a 
mouthful  of  bread  each  day." 

"  Truly  ?  Oh,  what  a  blow  you  have  given  me  ! 
Oh,  my  poor  Fairy,  my  poor  Fairy  1  If  I  had  a 
million,  I  would  give  it  all  to  you,  but  I  have  only 
forty  cents,  which  I  was  going  to  use  to  buy  some 
clothes.  Take  my  money,  Snail,  and  carry  it  quickly 
to  the  good  Fairy." 

"And  what  about  your  clothes  ?  ' 

"  What  does  that  matter  ?  I  would  sell  these 
rags  in  order  to  help  her.  Go,  Snail,  and  in  two 
days  come  back,  and  I  will  have  some  more  money 
for  her." 

The  Snail  began  to  get  excited  and  ran  as  if  a 
bird  were  after  him. 

When  Pinocchio  returned  home  his  papa  asked 
him,  "  Where  are  your  new  clothes  ?  " 

"  I  heard  from  the  Snail  that  my  good  Fairy  was 
ill  in  the  hospital  and  so  poor  that  she  had  no  food, 
so  I  sent  her  the  forty  cents." 

That  night,  instead  of  going  to  bed,  Pinocchio 
worked  until  midnight.  Afterward  he  went  to 
bed  and  slept.  And  while  he  slept  he  thought  he 
saw  the  good  Fairy,  all  beautiful  and  happy  and 
smiling,  who,  after  giving  him  a  kiss,  said  :  "  Good 
Pinocchio  !     For  your  good  heart  I  pardon  all  your 


PINOCCHIO  211 


misdeeds.  Boys  that  help  their  parents  lovingly  in 
their  troubles  always  deserve  praise  and  affection." 
just  here  Pinocchio' s  dream  ended  and  he  awoke 
with  his  eyes  opened  wide. 

Now  imagine,  little  readers,  the  great  surprise  of 
Pinocchio,  upon  waking,  to  find  that  he  was  no  longer 
a  wooden  marionette,  but  that  he  had  become  a 
boy  like  all  the  others  !  He  gave  a  glance  around 
him  and,  instead  of  a  bed  of  straw,  he  saw  a  room 
beautifully  furnished.  Jumping  down  from  his  bed, 
he  found  prepared  for  him  a  nice  new  suit,  a  new 
cap,  and  a  pair  of  new  shoes. 

He  had  scarcely  dressed  himself  when,  like  all 
boys  who  have  a  new  suit,  he  put  his  hands  into 
his  pockets  ;  and  just  imagine  his  surprise  when  he 
pulled  out  a  small  pocketbook  of  mother-of-pearl, 
on  which  were  written  these  words  :  "  The  Fairy 
with  the  Blue  Hair  returns  the  forty  cents  to  her 
dear  Pinocchio  and  thanks  him  with  all  her  heart." 
Opening  the  pocketbook,  he  found,  instead  of  forty 
pennies,  forty  pieces  of  gold. 

Afterward  he  went  to  look  in  the  looking-glass 
and  he  did  not  know  himself.  He  saw  no  longer  the 
reflection  of  a  wooden  marionette,  but  the  image 
of  a  bright  and  intelligent  boy  with  chestnut  hair 
and  large  bright  eyes.  Pinocchio  was  greatly  sur- 
prised.   In  the  midst  of  these  marvels  that  happened 


212  PINOCCHIO 


one  after  another  he  did  not  know  whether  it  was 
all  real  or  whether  it  was  a  dream. 

"  Where  is  my  papa  ?"  he  cried  suddenly.  Then, 
entering  the  next  room,  he  found  Geppetto  well  and 
as  young  as  when  he  first  began  his  profession  of 
carving. 

"  What  does  it  all  mean,  dear  Papa  ?  "  asked 
Pinocchio. 

"  It  means  that  you  must  try  to  deserve  all  this 
beautiful  house,"  said  Geppetto. 

"I  will  try,"  said  Pinocchio.  "And  why  is  it 
that  you  look  so  well  and  young?" 

"Because  when  bad  boys  become  good,  they 
cause  everything  to  change  for  the  better  and  make 
the  whole  family  happy." 

"And  the  old  wooden  Pinocchio  —  where  is  it 
hidden?" 

"There  it  is,"  replied  Geppetto,  pointing  to  a 
wooden  marionette  leaning  on  a  chair  with  its  head 
limp,  its  arms  hanging  down,  and  its  legs  crossed, 
so  tnat  it  was  a  wonder  that  it  could  stand  at  all. 

Pinocchio  turned  to  look  at  his  old  self  ;  and 
after  he  had  regarded  it  a  little  while,  he  said  with 
great  satisfaction  :  "  How  naughty  I  was  when  I 
was  a  marionette  !  and  how  happy  I  am  now  that 


I  have  become  a  real  live  boyj  " 


. 


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.  .•-  *    '.  \  : •   .   .  -.. .': I 


